NaruWars: Sakura of the Pink Blade
by OnLorakeetWings
Summary: In case you didn't read the title consciously, the happens to be a Naruto-Star Wars crossover. Please do note that THIS STORY INCLUDES THE NARUSAKU PAIRING. So, in other words, PLEASE don't hate on the story just for that specific reason. Enjoy!    Ta! :3
1. Chapter 1

**Naru-Wars: Sakura of the Pink Blade**

_=*= a Naruto-Star Wars fan-fiction =*=_

Chapter 1

As I woke, my eyes opened slowly and brought the whiteness expanse of my ceiling into focus. I sighed quietly, closed my eyes, and rolled over to go back to sleep. I knew that I wouldn't really fall back asleep though; I had the tendencies to wake up and stay awake. I mostly rolled over out of habit, from back in my academy-student-and-genin-days, but also because I cherished the warmth that wouldn't be anywhere outside my bed at this hour—5 AM.

I blew out another breath, this one bigger, and forced the quilted comforter and sheets away from my pleasantly heated body. I winced and shivered as the chilled air seeped into my skin. But after I sat up and stretched for a minute, I felt as though I had been awake for hours. Then I padded into the bathroom to turn on the shower. After stepping out of my maroon-and-pink plaid PJ bottoms and yanking my solid maroon cami over my head, I ducked into the shower. I felt the water rush over my shoulders, truly waking me up and starting my day. I sped through washing myself, then took an extra minute with the conditioner to let it set in my hair. I rinsed, finished up, and got out of the shower, wrapping a towel around myself as I went.

I dressed and dragged a brush quickly through my hair, smiling at the remembrance of when I had cut it during the second task of my first-ever chunin exam. I had called it "low-maintenance", and it was definitely that. I jerked myself back from memory lane. I quickly pulled on my work clothes, then placed my shinobi headband on top of my head and tied it behind my neck. I gazed at myself in the mirror for just a minute. I grinned at my reflection and turned away.

I knew I was ready for action. What I didn't know was that I would need to be for quite a while.

I had been training with Lady Tsunade for about two hours, but then the rest of the Hidden Leaf Village began waking up as well, so she had to return to her Hokage-ly duties. As I followed her back to the Hokage House to assist her by doing errands, paperwork and such, I wondered how much more boredom I would have to endure. But then I remembered that things always were more interesting when Naruto was involved. _Hm._ _Naruto __normally __wakes __up__…__when? __8:30? __9__o__' __clock?_ I snorted softly and shook my head. _That __idiot. __Always __getting __up __late __and __making __the __rest __of __us __always __wait. __Especially __me._

I worked for another four-and-a-half hours before I saw anything of Naruto—unusually late, even for that knucklehead. I was on way back from running a short errand for Lady Hokage when I first laid eyes on the twerp.

He yawned and stretched as he walked my way, a zombie, dead on his feet. "Hey Sakura…whass…*yawn*…goin' on…?"

I stopped in my tracks and spun around on my heel, ve-ry slow-ly. I plastered a totally fake smile on my face, taking a page out of Sai's book.

"Oh, hey Naruto. I was just wondering WHERE THE HELL YOU'VE BEEN FOR THE PAST TWO-AND-A-HALF HOURS!"

That woke him up real quick. "Whoa! Sakura! I—"

"WASN'T THINKING? WELL AIN'T _THAT_ THE TRUTH OF A LIFETIME! YOU _IDIOT_! C'MERE, I'M GONNA—!" I snapped my black gloves, readying myself to deal out a helluva pounding.

But Naruto beat me to the punch—literally. He grabbed me up in one of his sweet warm-'n-cozy hugs in his perfectly muscled arms. I sighed, dropped my arms down around his waist, and just about fell back asleep, despite my once-awake-stay-awake philosophies. Naruto held me for a few more seconds, then squeezed me an extra time and drew back.

"Sorry I'm late, Sakura. I really didn't mean to worry you…" He slowly massaged the base of my neck with his fingertips, just the way he knows I _love_ it. "Can you ever forgive me?" Then he put his forefinger under my chin. I smiled softly in anticipation of what would follow "The Finger": "The Kiss".

We both leaned forward slowly, and my eyes fluttered shut and then—

"Ugh. What a _drag_…"

That voice…

…Was _waaayy_too close

Naruto and I jerked our heads apart, and then stepped away from each other awkwardly. I glanced at his face. He was pretty annoyed, but was managing to hide it fairly well.

I cleared my throat and brushed myself off discreetly. "What's a drag, Shikamaru?"

"Well, seeing you guys, uh, _like_ _that_," He smirked at our expense. Naruto rolled his eyes and grinned at me for a second. I blushed in reply. "You just reminded me _again_, thanks a lot, that I won't be able to see Temari for another couple weeks."

By the way, after the Chunin exams ended a while back, Temari never really put it on her schedule that she no longer needed to come here every two weeks—she and Shikamaru had fallen for each other pret-ty hard.

"What can I say?" Naruto shrugged. "That's what you get for being in a serious relationship with a girl who lives at least three day's journey away—lovesick!"

I smacked him playfully on the arm with a mock-scowl. "Now, be nice."

"Yeowch. Fine," Naruto smiled and rubbed his arm comically.

Shikamaru put his hands behind his head and leaned back a bit. "All I gotta say is that at least _she__'__s_coming _here_. Having to travel three days would just be such a drag, even if I did get to see Temari afterwards…"

I rolled my eyes playfully. _Dang, __that __kid__'__s __lazy. __I __bet __if __he __could __see __himself __from __somebody __else__'__s __perspective, __he__'__d __definitely __say__ '_Damn, _I__'__m __lazy.__'_

"Yeah, probably…" Naruto and Shikamaru said almost in perfect unison.

"What?" I frowned, confused.

"You were thinking about…" started Naruto.

"…How lazy I am," finished Shikamaru.

I giggled. "Yep."

Yeah, Shikamaru's a genius; he can guess your next move, while playing a game of shogi, go, and, of course, in the real world. But Naruto? He just knows me _that__well_(though he may try to tell you otherwise).

I looped my arm around Naruto's waist and grabbed Shikamaru's elbow. "Well, c'mon guys. I've only got to check in with Lady Tsunade and then I'll be—"

And then, _of_ _course_, the building next to us exploded, pretty much filling in my formerly empty schedule.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Naruto and Shikamaru were yanked from my grasp as we were all knocked over with the force of the explosion. I was thrown down _hard_, and the wind was knocked out of me for a few seconds. I winced and did a quick systems check. _Nothing__broken?_ I asked myself. _Good.__But__I__'__m__gonna__have__one_helluva_bruise__on__my__ass__tomorrow__morning__…__Ouch__…__Minor__scrapes,__but__I__think__that__'__s__it.__Thank__God._

Then I remembered that the boy I loved and another one of my best guy friends were blown away from me. "Oh my gosh, SHIKAMARU! NARUTO! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?"

I heard coughing nearby. "Sakura? You alright?" Shikamaru's dust-raspy voice was a teeny bit muffled by rock. I pulled a big hunk of stone away from where I thought I heard his voice, and there he was. I saw Shika's dirt- and soot-streaked face, and my eyes travelled down his slightly mangled body. A bump here, a cut there…

And then I saw his left leg. His knee was had been gashed against the rock. It looked pretty awful, streaming blood, swelling tremendously, and bent at a weird angle.

"Yeah, my leg took the brunt of the force. And now I'm not gonna be able to walk for a while…" he groaned. "What a drag…"

I winced sympathetically and got to work with my medical ninjustsu on his painful-looking injury. But after a few minutes, I faltered because I'd heard something alarming.

Shikamaru looked up at me. "Wait, why'd you—?" His eyes widened at something behind me. "Is that—?" That confirmed my suspicions. I turned on my heel, ve-ry slow-ly for the second time that day. Except this time, I didn't smile, fake or otherwise.

"I knew it was your voice I heard…"

"**Sasuke."**

"Well," said the boy I used to know. "If it isn't the very girl I'm looking for. Sakura Haruno."

Sasuke looked exactly like he had the last time I had seen him. Same dark hair that still stuck up in the back. Same outfit, the gray jacket-thing gaping open in the front with the Uchiha crest on the back, the huge purple rope belt, the black pants, forearm guards, and the shoes.

_No,__wait._I thought, as I recognized a random little tidbit of info._He_did_get__new__shoes__…_

But his eyes were still the same, his black, emotionless eyes. And so was his sword.

The very sword that was now delicately poised on Naruto's collarbone, as Sasuke stood back to back with the love of my life and held that stupid sword where it could kill Naruto.

He may as well have been holding that sword to my neck.

Naruto tried to say something to me, but Sasuke just angled the blade so that all he had to do was flick his wrist and Naruto would be a dead man.

_This could not go on._

"Let him go, Sasuke." My voice started as a whisper, but slowly rose to a scream. "Let Naruto _go,_ Sasuke. _I_ _said_, _let__him__GO!__"_

Then Sasuke got straight to the point. "I will if you come and be with me, and _only_ me, forever."

I froze. My head dropped as I considered my options.

"_No_, Sakura! What are you doing?" _Shika__'__s__still__here?_The back of my head whispered, _Well,__I__guess__he__is__either__way__—__a__broken__leg__will__keep__you__from__moving__around__too__much__whether__you__like__it__or__not._

My head lifted slowly of its own accord. My mouth opened and I spoke the words, "What if I say yes?"

Sasuke put his sword away and smirked. "Then you leave with me and never see these…people ever again."

"And if I say no?"

"Then everyone in this village, including you, will die. Or, at least 'disappear'." He mockingly made the little bunny-ear-quotation marks. His face was still as cold as ice.

So it all came down to my choice. Would I let hundreds, no, _thousands_, of innocent people die because I cared too much for one person, or would I banish myself to live in regret because I cared too much for one person? So I made up my mind and spoke the only rational answer:

"_Neither.__"_

Sasuke created another humungous explosion. Then something else blew up, and something else. And the only way I could describe Sasuke's actions was using the highly cliché phrase "space-time continuum rupturing apocalyptic occurrence".

Sadly, that was the last string of thoughts that went through my head before I went spinning through time and space, swirling, bumping, jostling, and flailing.

Then everything stopped for just a moment. I was suspended in midair, almost flying. I thought two words:

_Oh shit._

And then I fell on my ass.

Again.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I breathed in sharply as my tailbone throbbed painfully. I rolled up onto the soles of my feet, but then I lost my balance, falling back on my butt for the third time that day. I grunted and tried again, using my hands to steady me. This time, I stood all the way up on the coarse sand.

_Sand?_ I thought frantically. _There__'__s__no__sand__back__in__Konoha!_

I whipped my head up and, around me, there were small mud houses in neat little rows. People were everywhere, some looking at me funny. And some of them _were_ funny.

Funny looking—as in, some of them weren't human.

I saw a tall dark man talking to a short blue creature with a very long, spindly nose, two extra eyes, and a tentacle growing out of its bald head. Both men (at least I _think_ the blue thing was a guy) were dressed in long light brown cloaks, just a shade darker than the sand.

I whirled again and saw an older teenage girl hugging a fuzzy little animal, probably a pet of hers. I didn't understand what that animal was either, but that didn't really matter.

There were also robots. Droids of all kinds. Small, large, humanoid, box-like, you name it. They were all like nothing like I'd ever seen before.

Then I began to freak out. _Where__'__s__Naruto?__What__about__Shikamaru?__Is__his__ankle__okay?__Did__Sasuke__leave__Naruto__alone?__I__have__to__find__them!_

"Naruto? Shikamaru!" I yelled frantically. "Where are you guys?"

My head whipped back and for the as I started to run blindly. I kept calling their names. People were whispering and staring ("Did you see that girl?" "She appeared out of thin air!"), but I _really__didn__'__t__care._ I had to find the guys!

Now there was a small group of men who were wearing, at least what looked like, special uniforms. Then it hit me that these were the police. They thought I was just being rowdy, but I needed to look for my friends.

"Miss, we're going to have to ask you to leave. You're causing a disturbance." said one of the officers.

"But wait!" I yelled, which was probably not the best idea—they only thought I was crazier. "I need to find them! I need to find Naruto! You have to help me fi—"

"Wait," said a voice behind me as a big hand hit was set down hard on my shoulder. "She's with me," Then he waved a couple fingers in their faces, like some kind of jutsu, only without all the sign-weaving.

"Yes, she is, sir." the officers looked blankly at me and the guy who had probably just saved my painfully-throbbing ass. "Have a nice day."

"Yes. She is," He nodded thoughtfully.

As the police walked away, I turned to the person who had basically just saved my guts from being thrown in this place's equivalent of jail—but no biggie. "Who are you?" I scrutinized his appearance. "And why did you save me?"

This guy was wearing a robe a lot like other ones that I'd see on other people, except for one main difference; his was a warm chocolate brown. He was also wearing a matching hood, but I won't quibble the details. His face was wrinkled something awful, and he had a bushy little beard that covered his mouth and nose. His eyes sparkled mischievously. He turned quickly away from me and began to stride away from me. "You could thank me, you know."

"Alright, I'll give you that," I said as I hurried to catch up. "So thanks. But seriously. Who the hell _are_ you? And why the hell would you save a girl who dropped out of nowhere? And how did you get them to agree? Was it some kind of jutsu? Because I seriously need to learn that one. And also—?"

"Not another word. Wait until we get somewhere private. I will explain everything when we get there."

"Get wh—"

"Ah, ah, ah. I said not another word."

And so I followed him like he held the secret of my existence. He kind of did actually. But only _kind_of.

_Geez._ I thought to myself. _This__geezer__is__fast__for__someone__who__looks__so__…__old._

We finally reached a nondescript hut that looked a lot like the others. But something was different. When the guy pressed his hand to a small panel to the right of the door, hidden mechanisms whirred as a laser ran across his palm, and a small light bulb above the panel glowed green. The door slid open, and we stepped from some kind of desert wasteland into Techno World. I followed the old man into an elevator-looking-thing, only it was rounder. I sat down across from him (I winced a little—my butt still hurt from earlier), and he pressed a button near the arm of his chair, and we were in motion, moving horizontally, now rising so fast that I was being pressed into my seat. Then we jerked to a sudden stop, and I looked around again.

"Can I—"

"Not yet."

I rolled my eyes and we were moving again, gliding to a safe place to talk. We rode in companionable (as in, I crossed my arm and legs, staring pointedly at the small area of space four feet above his hooded head as he smirked and looked out the window) silence for another minute or so, then we slid to a thankfully gentle stop. At last, the doors opened, and he rose to his feet. I stood too, and my ass was still really sore from falling on it _twice_, and then from sitting for so long.

I didn't even bother asking if we could talk yet. The old guy led me to a_nother_ room, this one much plainer than what I had seen at the Technologic Hut. "Sit here," He gestured to what looked like a chair you would find in a cafeteria back home.

"No thanks—I'll stand." I pulled another Sai smile.

"As you wish," He stepped back out of the room. "I must go."

"Where to? Nowhere." I pulled out a kunai and pointed it between his eyes. "You promised to answer some questions, so that's what you're gonna do."

He didn't even bat an eye. _Whoa,_ part of my subconscious rattled off. _This__guy__must__have__knives,__swords,__or__something__sharp__and__dangerous__pointed__at__him__a__lot._"I'm sorry. You only have to wait a short while longer, Ms. Haruno."

That threw my off by kind of a lot. "Wait, how did you—"

"All in good time, all in good time," And then the jerk left. I paced angrily, not caring that a guy I had never seen before and only asked questions to knew my name. I ended up waiting for what felt like hours, but was actually only fifteen minutes.

"Come, Sakura Haruno." he said when he finally came back, "The Jedi Council requests your presence."

I didn't even bother to ask what the hell a "Jedi" was.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I stepped through a doorway that led to a high-ceilinged room. There were twelve chairs spread in a circle around a mark on the floor. There was a circle inside the outer circle, and the old man shoved me forward to stand inside it. Then he quickly took his seat to my left. So he was part of the "Jedi Council" or whatever it was called.

Just then, my thoughts were interrupted as a dark-skinned man. "Your name."

"Uh…S-Sakura Haruno," For some unknown reason, this room full of balding geezers in cloaks was giving off a special kind of power. Not quite chakra like mine, but more like they had the power to wield certain powers, if that makes any sense. It gave me the chills, but I toughened up.

"One of the Council wishes to oversee your training," continued the bald guy.

"My what?" What would I train for here anyway?

"To become a Jedi, your training will be," spoke up a little green elf with the biggest ears I've ever seen on _anything._

Wait, _what?_ "Okay, I'm sorry, but you've obviously got the wrong girl. I have no clue what you geezers are talking about but I'm gonna go now, so have a nice life." I spun around to walk out on these weirdos.

"We can teach you the skills necessary to find your friends," the old guy from before piped up. As I turned away, I saw a glass of water that was sitting on a coaster on the table next to him, now levitating in front of him right before he grabbed it and took a drink.

I froze and spun on my heel ve-ry slow-ly for, what, the third time today? "But how do I know I can trust you people?"

My supposed savior smirked and his eyes shined again. "You're out of other options. You know you don't have any other choice but to trust us."

Dammit. He had a point there. "Alright. Fine. Teach me whatever you wanted to teach me. I don't care anymore. Now will someone explain what the heck is going on?"

The other Council members murmured in slight surprise, probably because I just agreed to do something I didn't understand _at__all_.

"Council dismissed," said the black guy under his breath.

"Thank you, Master Windu."

Then the old man hurried over to my side. He grabbed my arm with more force then a guy his age (or at least _looked_ his age) should have, and started walking very quickly down the hallway we originally came in. _Great._I thought, pissed off. _Now__I__'__m__gonna__have_two _bad__bruises__tomorrow._

He continued to drag me until we arrived in positively _huge_ room that looked more like a battle ground than anything. Dried blood stained the ironic linoleum floor—it almost looked like a classroom of death. There were several weapons scattered across the room, some bloodstained like the floor, others shattered, bent, or broken. I looked around disapprovingly. _Imagine__what__Lady__Tsunade__would__say__if__the__ANBU__Black__Ops__left__this__kind__of__mess__after__every__mission__they__accomplished__…_

"You may choose a weapon, and you shall come at me now," The old geezer's voice echoed throughout the chamber almost like a thunderclap.

"I'm fine, thanks. I'm already covered," I pulled out a few kunais and shuriken to prove my point.

"Alright, then. Now come before I end up taking a nap."

"M'kay," I threw some experimental shuriken to see what I was dealing with.

The old guy dodged them like they were moving in slow motion. And, trust me; they weren't, not with my strength.

"Is that all you can do? I see I have my work cut out for me…"

Then I yanked the wires that were attached to the shuriken I had thrown.

His eyes flicked to the throwing stars, and I heard an electronic-sounding swish, almost like the drawing of a sword, and a bright-ish flash of light that accompanied it.

I shielded my eyes, but when I looked up again, _the__guy__was__holding__a__blue__lightning__bolt._

_No,__wait._ I told myself,_That__'__s__not__lightning.__There__'__s__a__hilt._

But still. He was holding a light-sword-type-thingy that had just sliced through my shuriken like a hot knife through butter. It was thoroughly amazing.

But I wasn't finished yet. I threw a smoke bomb and skipped away to hang on the ceiling by concentrating my chakra on the soles of my feet, just like in the first training session Kakashi-sensei gave Team 7. That would've worked against anybody normal, but this guy was waiting for me with a slash that I was forced to block. As I dodged, though, I threw a paper bomb attached to a kunai straight up into the air. I triggered it just as it peaked. This got the guy to look up, and gave me a chance to escape across the room.

He then gestured with his light-sword in my direction, and a pile of discarded weapons flew directly at me.

There was that jutsu again, moving things without touching them, or even weaving hand-signs.

After I had blocked the flying shards of metal, he pulled a disappearing act, but I saw immediately that he had only gone behind the walls of the cave. I concentrated a large amount of chakra to my left hand, jumped, and punched the side of the rock. I revealed his hiding place, which he then left, and came at me again.

_Man,__this__brings__back__memories__from__the__time__Naruto__and__I__fought__Kakashi-sensei__right__after__Naruto__came__home__from__his__training__with__Master__Jiraiya!_ I thought nostalgically.

Then I performed a little bit of genjutsu on him, a small lesson that I learned from Kurenai-sensei one evening when Lady Tsunade went to bed early.

I grinned as I let my guard down and approached him with a kunai. He was mindlessly slashing at the air with his sword. Then I got within striking distance.

Suddenly, the light-sword-thing was at my throat and he was behind me. I could now see that he had burned his arm with it to release himself from my genjutsu.

_So__he__was__acting__the__whole__time,__huh?_I asked my subconscious, thinking of Shikamaru. _He__'__s__a__sharp__one__…__unlike__Naruto,__who__would__'__ve__been__taken__out__since__before__the__paper__bomb__…__oh,__Naruto__…_

A single tear slid down my cheek as I remembered one of my best friends, and my boyfriend, either of which I didn't know if I would ever see again.

"Come now. You mustn't cry when you lose. It's unsportsmanlike."

"Oh, sorry. It's not that," I said, wiping it away quickly. "I was just—"

"Remembering your friends? Don't worry, Sakura. We will find them. You have my word." He put away his blue gleaming sword with a push of a button, patted me on the shoulder, and began to walk towards the door.

I smiled tiredly. "Thanks…" But then my expression changed. "Hold on a sec, you never told me your name."

"Ah, yes. I am Obi Wan Kenobi, a former Jedi knight, and a senior of the Jedi Council. I am now your master, you are my padawan and you will obey me."

"Whatever you say, Obi Wan-sensei."

"Now go get me a brandy."

"Hell no."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I ended up getting him that brandy anyway.

As he was sipping his drink, he explained _everything_ to me. I threw a _lot_ of questions at him; I asked what his sword was called. "A lightsaber," he said. I inquired who he had trained with, and he replied thoughtfully, "Qui Gon Jinn was his name. He was killed many years ago."

"I'm so sorry…" I didn't know what to say after that.

"Moving right along. Is there anything else you wish to know?"

I went through my mental checklist; we had already covered why he would train me (he said I'd "find out soon enough"), how he moved stuff without moving himself (the Force), how his sword worked (a crystal gave the saber its power), how old he was (he didn't answer this one either—all he said was "Too old" and left it at that), and who else he had trained (Anakin Skywalker), but there was one more thing I had to ask.

"Why did you save me?"

He pulled at his beard a little. "I don't exactly know. The Force called for me to help you, and I followed what it said. In other words, I saved you on a strong whim."

"A _whim?_" Last time I heard those words, Naruto, Sai, Yamato-sensei and I had encountered Sasuke, and he said he saved Naruto's life on "merely a whim." That was before I fell in love with Naruto.

_I had to find him and Shikamaru._

But I was so hopeless. There wasn't anything I could do yet. It made me want to scream and cry, yell and sob, all at the same time.

I leaned back in my chair, and tears ran silently down my face.

"Sakura? Did I upset you?" Master Obi Wan sounded concerned, but I didn't dare look at him. I rose quickly to my feet and walked out of the room in a daze, even though my butt protested the sudden movement. I didn't know where I was going, but I had to get away from him for now.

"Sakura—"

"Just please leave me alone right now, Obi Wan-sensei. I need that right now."

He nodded slowly with a slight frown, and let me go.

I wandered throughout the Council's main meeting building for a while reflecting on my past. Then I thought about Naruto and Shikamaru, about how I needed them. Then I thought of …him. Sasuke. How, if it weren't for him, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. And then I thought of what to do next, and all of a sudden, I knew.

I found my way back to the room I had waited in to see the Jedi Council. Obi Wan was still waiting there for me. He looked up as I walked in.

"Obi Wan Kenobi-sensei, I want you to teach me how to properly use a lightsaber."

He smiled genuinely. "You finally realized that. Master Yoda, the little green creature whom you met at the meeting, mentioned that to me earlier, but he didn't want me to push you into the decision. I led you here so I could be comfortable while you thought it over."

I laughed out loud. A strange feeling of relief settled over me, like a sense of contentment, relief and anticipation, all at the same time. _Shikamaru?__Naruto?__Wait__for__me,__guys.__I__won__'__t__be__much__longer._

_ I'm coming!_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Three and a half months passed by, and I had almost completely perfected my lightsaber training. The Force hadn't really taken to me, but I had my jutsus, so Obi Wan-sensei disregarded it. I mean, I could use the Force, just not very well—I could only levitate fairly small objects, and I couldn't really destructify anything like I had seen Obi Wan-sensei and a few other padawans do.

Anyway, I was using one of the practice lightsabers that the Council kept in one of the storage rooms, but I was getting tired of waiting for my own. So, one day, during a short break in my training, I popped the question.

"Sensei?"

"Hm?"

"When am I going to get my own lightsaber?"

"Who ever said you would get your own lightsaber?"

I raised my eyebrow at him. "Who said I wouldn't?"

He smiled. "You know me well," Then my master stood up and looked at me. "If you can land a blow on me I'll tell you when you're getting one."

"Done," We shook hands, and I threw my deactivated lightsaber…

…To the Shadow Clone I had positioned across the training grounds. She tapped Kaka—I mean, Obi Wan-sensei lightly over the head with the hilt. "Gotcha."

Sensei threw his head back and laughed. "You always have new tricks up your sleeve, Sakura. I've never seen this one before, though. What's it called?"

"The Shadow Clone Jutsu. It makes a flesh-and-blood clone that you can control," My expression dimmed just a touch. "Naruto taught it to me…"

"Ah, the infamous Naruto. Any word from him?"

I shook my head glumly. "Not yet, but I have a good feeling about it—I know he's alive, and I feel like I'm going to see him again very soon. Shikamaru, too."

He smiled and nodded. "Well, you_did_ hit me, so I'm going to tell you when you'll be getting one."

My mood lightened immediately. "Really? I'm really truly getting a lightsaber? Ohmioshohmigoshohmigosh! When, Obi Wan-sensei?"

He smiled his trademark mischievous "I'm playing a trick on you" smile. "As soon as you stop you blabbering, pack you bags, then we can get on the ship to Ilum."

"OMIGOSH!" I squealed, then paused. "What's on Ilum?"

"Absolutely nothing. At least, that's according to everywhere else in the galaxy. To us, that's where we create your lightsaber."

"No way. This is not happening. I'm just going to wake up and assure myself that I'm actually _not_ getting my own lightsaber, and that this is all just a super-elaborate dream. Now I'm gonna wake up any second, and this'll all be over."

Obi Wan smiled wanly. "I say we skip the theatrics and pack it in." Then he rose to his feet and walked out of the training room.

Then it really hit me. I was going to get my own lightsaber!

I ran on jelly legs to the room the Council had been providing me since I had begun training with Obi Wan-sensei. I looked at what little I had with me, and decided to take only the bare minimum. The clothes on my back, my shinobi headband, and the picture that I kept of Naruto, Shikamaru and I. My lips curled up into a small smile as I looked at our small genin faces. And this was taken back before I cut my hair during the chunin exam, when it still went halfway down my back. I self-consciously touched my shortened locks, and wished Shika and Naruto were here. Ino and Choji too. And Neji and Hinata (even though she's my love rival) and Kiba and Akamaru and Shino and Lee and Tenten and Gaara and Temari and Kankuro and...everybody. I missed them all. All my senseis too.

Everybody but Sasuke. He had torn me away from those people, and I could never, _ever_ forgive him for that.

Eventually, I sighed determinedly and went to meet Obi Wan-sensei to be carted off to Ilum, and to get my lightsaber.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter7

Ilum was _so_ not a happy place.

We landed the ship (Obi Wan-sensei was actually the pilot), and I looked out the window, waiting to see the sun(s) gleaming upon a gorgeous lake or ocean. But all that was visible was solid white. A blizzard, a snowstorm.

"We're here," murmured my sensei, smiling fondly. He was having a pleasant flashback. I could tell.

"Whatcha' rememberin'?" I asked quirkily.

"Oh, I was just thinking about the time I came here with Master Qui Gon. He told me that I should get a blue on green lightsaber, but I wanted a black one," He chuckled lightly.

"Is there even such a thing?"

"No actually. But that's how I ended up with this old one," He gestured to his waist, where he kept his lightsaber. "While his back was turned, looking for a normal old blue crystal, I picked a special-looking black crystal and created my lightsaber. Only later did I figure out that it was actually a blue crystal covered in soot."

"Was he mad?"

"No, not at all. Quite the contrary, actually. He chuckled and said 'You could have told me you wanted it custom-made'. It was quite the laugh between us."

I smiled and nodded slowly. Then I jumped to my feet. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get going!"

"Come now, Sakura," groaned Master Obi Wan, "You must wait for an old man."

"Yuh-huh." I said skeptically. I had seen this guy move better then a few of the people in the year below mine.

We shared a quick laugh, then started to make our way through the snow to the cave that held the crystals. I took my first step out into the storm, and immediately thought of the last time I had been somewhere so cold—when I had faked my love for Naruto to get him to stop going after Sasuke. I had been so horribly selfish, as I had wanted to kill Sasuke personally.

A tear slowly ran down my face, and then almost froze there. I wiped it away quickly and was done with it. But Obi Wan-sensei caught my movement and laid a hand softly on my shoulder.

"We're almost there. Then we'll be out of this wind," he said reassuringly.

Finally, we found our refuge in the humungous glittering and, apparently, secret cave. The first thing I did was sit down and cry with happiness. I was finally going to start to make my way back home after I found Naruto and Shikamaru in this horrifically crazy world.

Master Obi Wan nodded reassuringly. He knew what I was thinking. "We'll find them soon, Sakura. You're not alone in this."

"I know," I sighed deeply, then said firmly with a slight smile, "Now let's get my lightsaber made."

He grinned and we made our way to the center of the main chamber. "Do you know what color you're looking for?"

"Not at all. I'll know what I want when I see it."

Then we began our search. I gazed at legions of blue crystals, hordes of green crystals, and smaller clusters of purple crystals—Obi Wan-sensei said those weren't as easy to use. I looked for hours and hours, probably because I hadn't the faintest idea of what I was looking for.

But then I saw it.

Was it a crystal? Sure. Normal? No. Stereotypical? Nuh-uh. By any means, standard? Naw tat ahll, dahling (And Naruto says I can't do accents—ha!). It was so unique and different that a snail and a cheetah were more closely related than this gorgeous stone was to the rest of its kind.

"Sensei?"

"Hm?"

"I want _that_ one."

I gestured with my finger to the highest part of the domed walls, right to the stone.

He thought, with his eyesight, that this was just a regular old stone. "If you can get it, you can have it. That's the temple's policy. But make sure it is what you think it is."

We both smiled and I giggled with a small nod. Then I started up the walkway, and it led me until I was about fifty feet away from where the crystal was. I pulled out a kunai knife, but then rethought my decision. I mean, my crystal was embedded in rock, and I didn't want to waste any tools that I might need later. _The_ _Force,_ I thought suddenly. _I__can__try__to__use__the__Force_ _to__pull__it__out!_

I breathed deeply and shut my eyes. I imagined the crystal breaking out of the wall and coming to my hand. My eyes snapped open when I felt something sharp-ish hit my hand. I looked down at my palm. It was only a teeny shard of the crystal, and it had cut me, and the wound was stinging painfully. I quickly healed myself, but then it came to me.

_I__had__to__levitate__myself._

I swallowed almost audibly at the thought of trusting my life to something I had been working with for only three months, and that I was _still_ crappy at controlling. I looked down at Obi Wan-sensei, who was now sitting on the ground. He smiled wryly at me, clearly telling me I was getting myself into this.

_Well,__he__'__s__no__help_. I thought sardonically.

I turned back to my mission: to get my crystal. _My_ crystal. _My_ mission.

_Wait,_I told myself, _WWND?__What__would__Naruto__do?_

_You__dumbass!_My subconscious *apparently* told me, because now, I'm apparently talking to myself. _Naruto__would__give__his__word__then__do__it.__You__'__re__his__GIRLFIREND__for__Pete__'__s__sake!__How__would__you__not__know__that?_

"Fine!" I said out loud, freak that I am. Then I thought about reaching for the crystal.

My feet left the ground, I freaked out, and my feet slammed back down.

"Keep going, young padawan!" shouted Obi Wan-sensei. "You've almost got it, Sakura!"

I nodded and smirked at myself. I _was_ being stupid. I already knew I could do this. I thought about Naruto, his strength, his smile, his determinedness, his damn obliviousness. Then Shikamaru crossed my mind, his laziness, his little jokes about Naruto and me, his catchphrase "What a drag", the passionate person _waaay_deep inside him. These wonderful thoughts about some of the best people in my world were propelling me upward towards my goal.

Then I truly realized that I was using the Force. My feet were dangling over a hundred-and-fifty feet in the air, and I wasn't freaking out like I thought I would be. It was actually quite refreshing, almost like I was flying (as cliché as that is).

My fingers grazed the ceiling, and I was jerked out of my half-stupor. I fell for what felt like minutes, but was just an instant. I regained my composure and began to rise again. I was at the very top again, my hand on the crystal that would soon be in my lightsaber. I concentrated almost half my chakra to my right hand as I used my super-strength to pull the crystal free. It came loose in my hand, and more joyous tears ran down my face.

I lost my previously careful concentration and fell twenty-five feet, fifty feet, more and more, faster and faster. I was starting to lose consciousness. Then all of a sudden, I jerked to a sudden stop and was slowly set down on the ground.

I drifted in and out of consciousness for the next hour, or what felt like an hour. It was probably only a few minutes in real life. Obi Wan was speaking to me.

"The crystal…heart…blade," I could see through my lashes that my crystal hovering over Kenobi-sensei's hand.

"…Heart…crystal of the Jedi." One half of the beginning of a hilt came to my jewel.

"…Jedi is the crystal…Force." There went the other half, and I was starting to regain my consciousness. I sat up a little bit.

"The Force is the blade of the heart." The inner-hilt went vertical, and Obi Wan-sensei nodded to the outer-hilt that was in two even pieces on the ground beside me. I gestured to them using the Force, and they came to join the creation of my lightsaber.

"All are intertwined," continued Master Obi Wan, "The crystal, the blade." I made the hilt come together. "The Jedi. You are one." I took the lightsaber from where it had been hovering directly in front of me, and I unsheathed it.

Its blade shot out right next to my face, but I didn't flinch. I was one with the blade.

Obi Wan-sensei smiled at my new lightsaber in wonder, probably because it wasn't anything like a regular lightsaber should be. My saber was unique.

My favorite color was pink.

The clothes on my back and my hair were pink.

And now my blade was too.

_I__had__the__first,__last,__and__only__pink__lightsaber__in__existence._

Sha-_zay_-um.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I hung out for another week, getting used to my new lightsaber. And one day, Obi Wan-sensei took me to see the Jedi Council again. They saw my pink blade and were amazed.

"But how would she, of all people, get that crystal?" said the youngish bald guy from before. (Obi Wan-sensei had told me after my first hearing that his name was Mace Windu) "She doesn't have the adequate control of the Force to be a Jedi Knight, yet she lifted herself over fifty feet to reach it."

"And how did she get it out of the rock without heavy equipment?" asked another man. "It was embedded in the rock at least ten inches deep."

Now that I think about it, my pink crystal was bigger than I'd thought it would be. But there was finally a question I could answer.

"I got it out of the wall using my chakra. I follow in the footsteps of Lady Tsunade, the Hokage. She's a ninja medic and a strength-type. She taught me to use my strength too."

Obi Wan-sensei looked confused. "Who is this 'Lady Tsunade' woman you speak of? You never got around to telling me."

"Oh, she's the lead ninja back at my home, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, or the Leaf Village as we call it. She's the Hokage, the head ninja."

Master Windu leaned forward; he put is elbows to his knees and folded his hands at his mouth. "Please tell us about your home. Everything, if you don't mind."

I nodded sadly. I was getting a little homesick and I missed my friends. "Well, I guess I'll start at the very beginning, but I might have to skip around a bit, so keep up."

I took a slow breath, then started.

"Naruto Uzumaki, my boyfriend, and I were at the Ninja Academy with the rest of the people that were in our class. I had a horrible crush on a cute guy in my class, Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto had failed the graduation test three times in a row, but he kept telling everyone that he was going to be Hokage. He had always been shunned for reasons unknown to him at that time."

"But why was he—", Mace Windu asked.

"Ah, ah, ah," I shook my finger in his direction. "No talking until I'm finished. And also, can I have a chair? This is gonna take a while"

Windu nodded and sent a servant to get one.

After the boy came back, and I was sitting on my stool in the center of the room, I resumed my tale.

"Where was I? Oh yeah. Then some crazy crap went down, like Naruto stole this top-secret scroll for someone else by mistake, because he wanted to master the jutsu he kept screwing up, therefore continually failing the grad test. That was _Kage__Bunshin__no__Jutsu_, the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Then he ended up passing somehow. Then Naruto, Sasuke and I were put in a three-man cell to train with Kakashi Hatake, the guy who taught me a lot of what I know now.

"Then we took the Chunin Exam, a big test that decides who advances a level as a ninja, from genin to chunin. Everyone failed except for Shikamaru Nara, who's one of my best friends and _the_ best strategist ever. But the third part of the exam was never completed because Orochimaru, who was one of the Legendary Three, one of the Sanin, attacked the Leaf Village, thus ending the exam early, but that all got sorted out later. Then, our squad, Team 7, with Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei and I, went all kinds of missions and did all kinds of things. Then we heard about Jiraiya, also a Sanin, who came and taught Naruto what is now one of Naruto's signature jutsus, Rasengan. Then Sasuke became a rogue ninja and went to Orochimaru for power because he wanted to kill his older brother, Itachi."

"What?" asked another elder with an abnormally-shaped head, "Why would this Sasuke character want to kill his brother?"

I looked the guy straight in the eye. "Itachi killed off the entire Uchiha clan, all except for Sasuke. Sasuke saw his older brother looking down upon his parents' bodies. He was eight years old at the time."

The man was shocked into muteness, so I used his silence to continue my story.

"Anyway, Sasuke went to Orochimaru for power, but Naruto went after him and tried to stop Sasuke by bringing about a long-awaited fight. Sasuke left Naruto for dead and went to Orochimaru anyway. That left Naruto in the hospital for only a few days, though, because of the amazing recuperative powers."

"But where does he get the power?" asked Mace Windu tentatively.

"He gets it from the Nine-Tailed Fox."

"Nine tails on one animal? Isn't that just a little excessive?" quirked Obi Wan, getting a laugh.

I shot him a look, then stared around the room, my gaze giving each Council member a figurative kunai in the face.

"Not if it's a demon."

"Well, where's the demon, then?"

I met the eyes of the Council again, more sharply this time—a katana maybe?

"**It's inside of him."**

I seriously could've dropped a pin, and a bunch of people would've jumped because of the sudden noise.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

I continued to tell the Council of my history. "Then after Orochimaru's attack on the Hidden Leaf Village, the Third Hokage died and it was time to elect a new Hokage. This is where Lady Tsunade comes in.

"Jiraiya was offered the job, but he declined saying it 'wasn't his thing', but then he mentioned Tsunade to the counselors, and they said that if he could find her, and she accepted the title, then that would be fine as well. Naruto went with Jiraiya and I assume it went okay, because she came back with them.

"So Lady Tsunade became the Fifth Hokage."

Then I continued my tale through the Tailed Beasts, the disappearances of the jinchûrikis ("Bless you!" said Obi Wan-sensei, mock-alarmed.), and how Sasuke wanted to destroy the village.

Then I got up to the most recent point of the story. "So Sasuke ruptured the space-time continuum, thus triggering an apocalyptic occurrence that sent Shikamaru, Naruto and I here, but I have no clue exactly where the other two are. And I plan on finding them soon."

Yoda spoke up for the first time since I had begun my "amazing" story. "The truth, she tells, though believe it, you may not."

I bowed my head thankfully. "Would it be okay if I went to my room? I'm pretty tired now…" Mace Windu nodded and I added "Also, are there any good ramen shops around here?"

"What's 'ramen'?" I heard more than one Council member ask.

"Guess not, then," I whispered to myself. For some reason, that little fact made me want to sit down and cry. "I…I'll see you later Kenobi-sensei."

I saw him nod, concern on his face, but I shook my head, then turned and walked out of the meeting room.

I had to sprint down the hall to my quarters to beat the tears that were about to spill over on to my cheeks.

Once I shut the door, I flung myself onto my bed and just sobbed into my pillow. Telling that story had completely killed my nerves and I wished Naruto was here to hold me, and Shika to stroke the back of my hand like he always did when I was really upset. But thinking of them just made me cry harder. Eventually, I got so tired from crying so much and telling such a long story, that I fell soundly asleep, even though it was only three in the afternoon. I slept for about half an hour, and then I heard someone open the door to see my sleeping figure, then quietly close it again. That was probably Obi Wan-sensei. A long while after that, I fell off the bed and onto my ass (so history _does_ repeat itself!). I groaned, grabbed my pillow from my bed, and slept on the floor for the rest of the night.

When I woke the next morning, my butt still hurt pretty badly from my harsh landing from the night before.

I went to meet Obi Wan for breakfast in the training area out of habit, but he wasn't there. So I decided to walk to his favorite bar to see if he was in.

He wasn't.

I walked around town a bit, looking for Obi Wan-sensei and asking people if they had seen him or knew where he was. No one really did, so I wandered some more. I eventually found him bent over a man who was passed out drunk on the street.

But was it really a man? Obi Wan's head was blocking his face, so I looked at his form and decided that he couldn't be much older than me, if not younger. Obi Wan-sensei had hand pressed against the guy's forehead, so I knew I should stay at a distance—he was using the Force to clear the guy's head so the person could wake up, and it was very cautious work, so not to do any damage. I saw the boy's finger twitch and watched as he came back into consciousness. I turned away when I was sure he would be okay. But then I heard something.

"Geez, old man. Why'd you have to wake me up like that?" I heard a loud yawn. "What a _drag_…"

Wait,_what?_

I spun around on my heel ve-ry slow-ly. "What did he say?" I whispered to myself.

I faced my sensei and the mystery man, whom Obi-Wan had finally got to his feet. He looked ready to go back to sleep, with his eyes drooping and his left hand scratching behind his dark head of hair, which was thrown back in a familiar ponytail. I knew that face. I knew that voice. It was…ohmigosh…it was…

"_SHIKAMARU!__"_ screamed and started running.

"What? _Sakura?_ Is that really you?"

I jumped into his arms and he spun me around. "Yeah! It's me! And I've finally found you!" I yelled with all my heart, as cheesy as that sounds. "Where's Naruto?"

"What? I thought he was with you."

"Oi geez." I said, peeved. "The stupid writer _seriously_ had no better ideas for this scene then _that_?"

"Yes, that was some pretty shitty writing there," added Obi Wan-sensei from the background.

"*Ahem*" Shikamaru coughed, and I could tell he was trying not to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, it's nothing, *ahem* nothing."

"Really…?" I snapped my gloves menacingly. "Are you…sure?"

Shika finally caved and busted up laughing. "It's just that…" *laughs* "You guys are trying…to talk down…to the person who… can make us do whatever the hell she wants."

'_Damn__straight,__' _echoed an all-knowing voice that was _obviously_the writer's.

Just then, I fell down on my butt again, and when I tried to get up, an invisible force pushed me back down again. I watched as Shikamaru and Obi Wan-sensei began tangoing around in circles, making civilians stare. "Okay, okay, I get it!" I yelled towards the sky. "You are all-powerful when it comes to this story, and I grovel at your feet!"

I got back to my feet and wobbled a little, but stayed there. The other two finally stopped dancing.

"But seriously, Shikamaru," I brushed myself off. "What were you doing drunk on the side of the road?"

"_Drunk?_ What? No! I wasn't drunk! I just didn't have anywhere to stay so I just crashed on the street. Did you really think—?" He face-palmed, and slid his hand down to rub his eyes. "Ugh, what a drag…"

"And how did you're ankle heal? Do you need me to look at it?"

"Nah, some nurse-lady helped me out when I first got here."

"Oh, okay," I dropped the subject and began to wonder where Naruto was for the seventy-billionth time since I got here. Then something hit me.

"Oh, did I introduce you guys, Obi Wan-sensei?"

"I don't believe you did."

"My apologies, then," They both nodded forgivingly. "Obi Wan-sensei, this is Shikamaru. He's one of the guys I've been looking for all this time."

"A pleasure, m' boy," They shook hands. "I've heard a lot about you. Is your catch phrase really 'What a drag'?

"Sensei!" I blushed profoundly.

"Don't worry about it Sakura. After all, your own catch phrase did used to be 'Sasuke, oh Sasuke! '"

"Shut up!" I blushed even more. "Anyway, Shikamaru, this is Obi Wan Kenobi. He's taught me the proper use of a lightsaber these last few months, and let me get my own."

"A light-what?"

"One of these," and I drew it right between us. He jumped back at _least_ three feet. I was the one to crack up this time. Then I threw pebbles at him over and over again using the Force. Eventually he caught onto my prank and locked me in his Shadow Possession. He, on the other hand, forced me to give him an apology hug. Then he let me go.

I saw Master Obi Wan watching us in amazement. "How can you manipulate the shadows?"

"Oh, it's a Kekkei Genkai ("A bloodline trait" I murmured to Kenobi-sensei. "I can't do it either."). I get it from the Nara clan."

"You said it was called…the Shadow Possession Jutsu?"

"That's right. It restricts and controls all of the possessed person's movement except for the movements I make for them. Basically, I have almost complete control over the possessed's body—all except for their mouth."

"Amazing," murmured Obi Wan-sensei.

"And I've got medical ninjutsu," I added, not wanting to be left out. "I can heal people. Like this," I yanked a kunai out of my weapons bag and slashed for Shikamaru's cheek, but he outmaneuvered me because he had anticipated my actions.

I huffed, annoyed. "You're no fun. I can't even land _one__blow_ on you, even when I'm going my fastest."

"Your eyes give you away," He grinned at me. I pouted back. "Oh, remember when you guys were on the mission where you me Zabuza? When Naruto got that poison in his hand, Kakashi said they needed the blood to flow, so he stabbed the scrape and made some crazy vow, just like he always does."

I laughed quietly. "Yeah, and he only had a scar for, like, an hour! That was such a Naruto moment." I smirked at the memory.

"You really miss him, don't you." Shika said. It clearly wasn't a question.

I nodded as a small tear made its way down my still-flushed cheek.

He wrapped an arm around my tiny shoulders; I placed my hand on his waist. "We're gonna find him. You know it. I know it. Heck, the old guy knows it," Obi Wan nodded once. "So just relax. We're almost back home. We just gotta grab Naruto and blow this joint."

I nodded and smiled again, wiping away the tear. "C'mon Shikamaru, Sensei. Let's go back and see if we can get the drunken Mr. Nara here his own room for until we leave."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes at me, and Obi Wan-sensei chuckled.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Master Yoda and the Jedi Council were happy to lend a room to one of my friends, and we thanked them graciously. I took Shikamaru to his new room and he immediately crashed on the bed. "If you don't mind," he said, taking off his chunin vest and throwing it across a chair. "I'm going to resume where I left off during my nap." He yanked off his shoes as I turned to leave.

"Typical…" I muttered under my breath.

"What was that?"

"Oh, it's 'nothing, *ahem* nothing.'" I copied his line.

He sighed exasperatedly in my general direction. "What a drag…"

I chuckled quietly and left him to his nap.

The next morning, I was making a market run for general supplies—Obi Wan wasn't used to having two extra teenage mouths to feed. I got a _ton_ of stuff, but on the way home, I ended up dropping a bunch of it. There was a lady standing nearby, putting up neon orange flyers on the bulletin board meant for advertisements. She ran to help me.

"Thank you so much," I said breathlessly.

"Oh, it's not a problem," She smiled warmly at me.

Then I realized that my shuriken holster felt extremely light. But I didn't keep shuriken in there anymore. They were in my weapon bag on my hip. My shuriken holster was now reserved for my-

"Here's your lightsaber," said the woman tentatively, holding it gingerly out to me.

"Oh, thanks," I smiled at her, and took it while she bit her lip.

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, it's just…The flyers I was hanging up over on the board are for a padawan's lightsaber tournament. Maybe you'd want to attend?"

"I don't know. Do you mind handing me one of them? I'll take it with me."

"Not at all," She put a paper in the top of one of my bags. "There you go,"

"Thanks, ma'am. I'll definitely look into it." We both nodded and bid our goodbyes. I was on my way home with the groceries when I saw a scratching in the dirt. It looked like swirl at first, but then I saw it was actually a…

_It__was__a__leaf__symbol_.

I knew that Shikamaru never draws anything at all except for battle plans, because he says it's too much of a hassle to perfect his skills, and I certainly didn't draw it. The only Leaf shinobi left in this dimension was…_him_.

Then I looked for the first time at the piece of paper in my hand. I barely scanned it, but I could tell that _he_was there somewhere. Then my eyes flipped to the leaf that had fallen on the paper from the tree above me. When I brushed it aside, there was another leaf below it. The shinobi symbol again. I looked ahead to the Council building thoughtfully.

Then I sprinted all the way home, completely disregarding the weight of the baggage I was carrying.

I was at Obi Wan-sensei's house, faster than I myself could've thought possible. It was only a small detour, and I would immediately be on my way again. I threw the things I had bought on the counter and zipped over to my original path. I encountered a traffic jam over a spilled jug of water and four or five fallen servants in the hallway I was about to dash through. I made a snap decision to put my chakra into it, and took to the ceiling. People screamed and pointed; they thought I was going to fall. I reached the floor safely, and they began to applaud my actions. I turned for a quick wave, and then went full-throttle as I was nearing Shikamaru's room.

I had to literally screech to a stop in order to not plow over an elderly couple. ("Sorry!") I zipped through his door.

"Shikamaru!' I yelled._He__had__better__not__be__sleeping__…_ I thought to myself.

He wasn't. "Geez, Sakura! Whadayadoin'?"

"You have to see this—I think it involves Naruto!" I shook the balled-up flyer in my fist.

Shikamaru took it from me and took _forever_ uncrumpling it. "Holy crap, Sakura. Did you really have to murder it?"

I laughed nervously and shrugged. "What can I say? I crumple things up when I'm either nervous or going as fast as I possibly can. Or both, actually, in this case."

He looked at the wrinkled paper. Then he stared up at me intensely. "Did you really read this?"

Again with the nervous laugh. This time I scratched the back of my head, though. "Uhh…no?"

"It basically says there's a lightsaber tournament among apprentices from nearby next week. The winner gets to train with this really strong guy who can make clones of himself and who wears _this_ symbol," He pointed to our village's crest.

"Great!" I exclaimed, my hands in fists near my chin. "We can enter and go get Naruto!"

"We?" asked Shika, as if waiting for me to understand something.

"Yes, w—oh, wait. You can't use a lightsaber."

He nodded. "You'll have to enter alone."

"_What?_ So basically if I lose one stinkin' match, then we don't get to see him."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Way to put on the pressure, jerkface."

"Anytime," He smirked at me and I raised an eyebrow at him.

Then we went to go find Obi Wan-sensei.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"And so Sakura's going to enter to the tournament, win, and get Naruto back." Shikamaru said with finality.

"And if you fail, Sakura?" asked Obi Wan-sensei.

"Then we're screwed shitless," I said gravely.

He pursed his lips for a few seconds as he thought it over, and then Obi Wan turned away from us. "Do whatever you want. I don't care how you get him back; just do it."

I nodded and stepped back, pulling Shikamaru with me. "We will."

Then Shika and I set out to sign me up for the tournament. We approached the table and I filled out a small form, answering questions from the guy behind the counter about my apprenticeship (who my master was, how long I had been a padawan, etc). Then he asked for my name so they could announce me at my fights. I looked at Shikamaru nervously.

"Uh…'scuse us for a sec…" I said, jerking Shikamaru back from the table a few steps. "What should I say?' I whispered. "I mean, do I tell them my real name or an alias?"

"Hmm…I would go with the alias, but only to pay Naruto back for not finding us first. Instead we had to find him—_such_ a drag."

I laughed and nodded. "But then what am I going to use?"

"What if it was your name, just backwards? He breathed into my ear so the guy at the table couldn't eavesdrop like he was trying to. "Rakusa Noruha? Or Arukas Onurah?"

"Ooh, I like the second one. It blends with the rest of the weird names here. I'll use it, yeah! But where did you get the first one from?"

"I flipped the syllables instead of the letters. I was trying to be creative for once."

"Ah," I nodded with a cheesy grin on my face. We stepped back to the table. "I'm Arukas Onurah," I told the guy who was taking my admission.

He grinned. "A pseudonym, huh?" he asked. "Got someone to prank?"

"Yeah," I nodded with a smile, not giving details.

The man shrugged. "I got a ton of people who don't want to reveal their real name, so they do what you did—they use a stage name."

"Figures," commented Shikamaru with mock-disdain. "I wouldn't want my name revealed in this neighborhood either."

The guy chuckled. "Ain't that the truth," Then he sent us on our way.

The day after my sign-up, I got Shika to start calling me Arukas instead of my real name, so that I would respond to it at the contest. Obi Wan –sensei was in on the act too.

I began training even more than ever with Obi Wan, and even Shikamaru, ever the lazy-bones-type, helped a precious little. I got more adept with my sword and started to have room to show off a tiny bit. I could manipulate the Force a bit better, I found, if concentrated on Naruto. So I did that regularly. I advanced my control further when I began to practice levitating myself like I did to retrieve my crystal. The day before my big "show", I could levitate for almost a half-an-hour without resting, but I had to use a bunch chakra to maintain the balance.

Tough, I know.

That night, I decided to go hang out in Shikamaru's room for a while before I went to bed. I knocked lightly on his door. "You there?"

"C'mon in, Sakura. I was just thinking…actually, never mind."

I sat down on his bed. Softly, I spoke. "You really miss her, don't you? Temari, I mean."

He only nodded. I smiled gently. "You're gonna see her really soon. Don't worry about it."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Obi Wan gave me something yesterday, and it looks he said it was just a little something that he needed to get fixed, but it looks to me more like a test, like the one Asuma gave me before the Chunin exams."

"Oh, I remember that! You thought it was just some old weirdo's game, but it was actually an IQ test, right?"

"Yeah," Shika grinned.

"Do you miss him?"

"All the time. In fact, not a day goes by that I don't turn to his wisdom for guidance."

"Tch-yeah. Are you sure you didn't steal that line from Obi Wan-sensei?"

He laughed. "Actually, I did. But seriously, though. He has helped me so much over the years."

I nodded. Then a minute later, I said, "Thanks, Shikamaru."

"What do you mean?"

"I actually came here to cry on your shoulder, but you perked me up really well for tomorrow's fights. I'm actually ready now. So thank you."

He scratched the back of his head like he usually did. "Well, you're welcome, I guess…"

I smiled and padded to the door, but looked back quickly. "G'night, Shikamaru."

"Night, Sakura."

Then there was something I wanted to ask him. "Shika—" I changed my mind. "Actually, never mind. I'll tell you tomorrow."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, it's fine. Good night." He nodded and I slipped out into the dark hallway.

I ended up forgetting to tell him entirely.

I had decided the day before that I was going to wear a black Lolita wig that had hot pink highlights, and punk-ish clothes. It reminded me of cosplaying, just a lot more exciting.

I suited up in my black spandex top and pink-and-black striped thigh-high leggings under a frilly black Goth-Loli skirt, then I put on my and combat boots. I considered leaving my headband here, but I made a last-second decision to take it, and just put it in my real hair, which was under the wig, so no one could see it.

I added dark make-up, then tied my shuriken holster up a little higher on my leg than I normally wear it. I also put it upside-down so I could just pull the catch and drop my lightsaber into my hand, top first. Then I used a quick Lady Tsunade-esque jutsu to change my eye color (green to pink) and to make them really bright. I knew it would keep for awhile, but I would have to redo it in the bathroom late in the tournament.

I looked at myself in the mirror, deeming my new look complete, and started for the ground floor. Then I popped in a piece of pink bubble gum to top off the whole look.

When I got downstairs, I dramatically drew my lightsaber and did a quick pose for Shika and my sensei.

"Woah, Sak—er, Arukas. You kind of overdid it," said Shikamaru, totally overwhelmed by my transformation. He yawned and closed his eyes. Typical Shikamaru.

"No I didn't…" I shook my head, but looked at Obi Wan with my question if it, indeed,_was_ too much.

He smiled genuinely. "It's the perfect disguise. He'll never recognize you. I already know you're you and I'm still not sure!"

I laughed, replaced my blade in the holster, and we set off for the arena where the fights were taking place. We could hear the sounds of people warming up and sparing already, and we were still at least a mile away.

"C'mon guys. We're gonna be late if we don't hurry!" I yelled, then poured on the speed. Shikamaru and Obi Wan-sensei followed quickly to keep up.

The adrenaline of my upcoming fight started to settle in the pit of my stomach as I passed through the archway that led to the seating area and battlefield. They got copies of the bracket, and the admissions people asked me if I was competing.

"Yeah, why?" I asked, my head tilting slightly to the side.

"We need to tell you the name of your opponent. Name please?"

"Arukas Onurah."

"Ah, yes, I see. Onurah, you will be facing off against Vanite Exodus. And good luck—he's a speedy little kid."

I smiled and gave them a mock-bow. "Thanks for the advice, and enjoy the show."

They grinned at me, and I waved to my comrades as they went up to the stands. I, on the other hand, went to where the contestants were supposed to meet. It was a perfectly normal-looking forest green canvas tent. I ducked inside, wary of what I might find.

I glanced around at my competitors who were looking at me skeptically; most of them were guys, and the one who weren't looked like they were trying to be. So that left me as the only obvious girl.

I blew a strand of my wig-hair out of my face. It fell back to its original spot anyway. _Sigh._I thought, almost discouraged. _This__is__gonna__be__a__lo-o-ong__day._


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

It turned out that my match was first. The guy I was fighting, Vanite Exodus was one of the better-looking of those competing, and I could easily tell that he was trying to use that to throw me off guard or something. It really didn't, but I decided to play along anyway; I wanted to have some fun with this guy.

As we stood fifty feet part with the referee in the center, I blushed at him and he sent me a smile that was obviously attempting at seductive, but ended up just looking like he had woken up about a minute and a half ago. The ref began to read off the rules (only fight in the arena, must use lightsabers for at least half the match, etc.).

"These fights are strictly between the two players. If anyone from the audience interferes, they, and the participant they are assisting, will promptly be arrested," _Wow,__tough__rules,_ I thought, but then things began to get familiar. "The match will only end if one of you surrenders, is unable to continue, or dies, though I will try to stop the match before anyone becomes mortally wounded,"

I looked back on the first time I took the Chunin exams with Naruto and Sasuke. The proctor said a very similar piece before the prelims. I smiled at the memory, but then thought of the second part of the test, when Sasuke got his curse mark, and stopped smiling.

I glanced up at my soon-to-be-victim and fluttered my eyelashes. He nodded at me. Again with the attempt at seductiveness; it still wasn't working. "So you're this mysterious Arukas girl."

I nodded, all peppy-like to keep up my charade. The announcer looked at us both. "Do you understand the conditions?"

"Yeah," he said, I giggled, and we were off. Vanite just kind of stood there, so I copied his movements, just to tease him. I got a miniscule chuckle from the crowd.

Then I guess he got bored with waiting for me to make the first move, so he charged. I suddenly remembered what the people who admitted Shikamaru, Obi Wan-sensei and I into the arena.

_He's a speedy little kid._

He actually wasn't that fast, but I guess he was for a regular human being.

I waited another second, but then an idea came to me. I started toward Vanite, and used his back as a springboard. I used just a touch of chakra to send me even higher so I could scan a large part of the crowd for Naruto. I still couldn't find him, even though I stayed airborne for as long as I did. I fell back to the earth and landed gracefully, only to find that Vanite had pulled out his lightsaber and was waiting for me. He frowned. "Aren't you gonna show me your saber?"

"Not yet, but you'll totally _luhv_it when I do."

Vanite shrugged and came at me again. This time, I "tripped" and let him get really close, but I pulled out my sword just in time, blocking his shot at me, though I was still on the ground.

His mouth dropped open. "No way,"

I smirked. "I told ya you'd totally _luhv_ it."

Then my Shadow Clone poofed away and Vanite whipped his head back and forth, just like Willow Smith. "No way in hell!"

"Yes way in hell."

I was right behind him, my perfectly amazing lightsaber poised at his throat. He was starting to look weak in the knees. "No…way."

"Oh my gosh, you idiot!" I yelled. "I, a girl, really just beat you at your own game. None of this is a dream, a hallucination or otherwise."

"No w—"

"Will you ever _shut__the__hell__up?__"_

He _finally_ did.

The ref announced the match in my favor. I withdrew my lightsaber, turned away, and let him go. I heard him hit the ground like a sack of flour (I know, most overused simile ever, sorry), but I listened to his quickened steps as he ran out of the arena.

I brushed myself off and thought _Well,__that__'__s__that._ The audience was clapping politely at my odd performance. I waved slightly up at Obi Wan-sensei and Shikamaru. Shika grinned at me and flicked the remainder of his circulation headband on his left bicep with his right thumb, asking me a nonverbal question.

I nodded almost imperceptibly, then scratched my head, right on top of where my own headband was. He nodded back and gave me a thumbs up. All Obi Wan did was beam happily.

I waved one last time and strode off the battlefield, back to the green tent from before. My future opponents were warming up to me a little. A few people nodded at my victory and I half-smiled, half-smirked back at them. As I took a seat by the door, the next pair was called, and I scanned the crowds again for Naruto. Still no luck, though.

Just then, one of the über-burly guys slouched my way. "Can I sit?"

I didn't look at him, but shrugged my approval. He sat.

"How did you do it?"

"Do what?" I asked, even though I already knew what.

"How did you beat him without getting hurt?"

"Oh, Vanite Exodus? He was easy. All I needed was a good strategy, and that was about it."

"No, there was more to it. You were about to be beaten to a pulp by him, then you disappeared and reappeared behind him. That's completely impossible."

I slumped into a sigh. "Kid, you just saw it happen with your own two eyes, and you still call it impossible? Really?"

He shrugged, then turned to me, but I stayed put. "Can I ask you something?"

I smirked out the doorway. "You just did."

"You know what I mean."

"Shoot."

"Okay, then. Why did you enter this tournament?"

"There's someone I have to find. He might be watching right now, and I _have_ to find him." I looked right at him to emphasize my point.

"A boyfriend or something?"

Miraculously, I didn't blush or anything. "Moving right along."

"Okay, fine then. Don't tell me."

"A'ight."

There was a long, silent pause.

"I was trying to use reverse psychology on you." He remarked obviously.

"I know you were. It didn't work."

"Why not?"

I didn't answer, so he continued.

"But what am I supposed to do? I can't fight very well, my mind wanders too easily, and I'm just not a very competitive person in general. You, on the _complete_ other hand, can make clones of yourself. How the hell can I compete with that?" I had a feeling he was showing another side of his personality to me, the vulnerable and weak side. I turned my head, and my gaze pierced his face.

"You try your absolute best. That's how."

Trynt half-shrugged pitifully.

We were silent for a while. Then he sighed then looked at my hair skeptically. "Another question."

"What now?"

"What color's your real hair? 'Cuz it's completely obvious that this," he yanked on a strand of my 'hair'. "is a wig."

I frowned and bit my lip. "Fine. It's pink."

"No w—"

I stood, annoyed. "I swear, the next person who says that will not see tomorrow morning."

"Okay. I get it, sorry," I sat back down. "But seriously. Pink?"

I took a big step sideways so I was completely hidden by the tent's door-flap-thing, and pulled off the wig. "Yep. Pretty much."

Trynt's eyes widened and I put my fake hair back on. But then I guess he noticed something else weird about me.

"Whoa." he frowned at something on my face. "What's with your eyes?"

"What about them? You got a problem with pink eyes?"

"No, it's just that a second ago, they were that hot-pink color, and they just randomly faded into light green."

_Oh shit._

"Oh, it's in my genes," I said, successfully fielding a pretty complicated grounder, "It's actually pretty cool. My eyes are this green color when I'm normal, but they turn pink when I'm high on adrenaline. It's no biggie, but it does get annoying to have to think about what color my eyes are."

He slowly got to his feet. "Well, Q-&-A time's over."

"Why?" I asked, tilting my head slightly to the right.

"Well, my match is next, and those two are just about finished. Later, Arukas."

"Wait."

He turned back to face me. "What?"

I held out my hand in the intention of shaking his. "I'm not actually Arukas. I mean, that's not my real name, anyway. What's yours?"

"Nice to meet you. I'm the guy whose name you'll figure out in, I'd say, about a minute and a half."

I nodded and wished him luck.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

His name was Trynt. The fight was pretty short, only about a minute long. And Trynt ended up losing, the poor guy. He must've been too worried about making it to final rounds, that he stopped paying attention to the enemy right in front of him.

Ninjas can't make that mistake, and that's precisely why I didn't.

After it was over, he slouched back to the tent with his head hanging low, I spoke softly to him. "Hey, cheer up, bud. There'll always be more tournaments you can compete in."

"Not ones that you'll be in," He turned to me. "And you're one of the ones I wanna fight the most."

My face went slack. What was with guys in this dimension and saying things that I'd heard people from my world say?

I cleared my throat I averted my eyes, but said nothing. We listened as the next pair was called, but we didn't speak. The two of us stayed silent for the rest of the time, and then the ref called for all the winners of all the matches. I stood and gave Trynt a small, tired smile.

I walked out with the rest of the victors. We stood in a circle facing the crowd. I grinned and nodded at Obi Wan-sensei and Shikamaru. We finally were dismissed, and I raced up to the bleachers. I jumped into Shikamaru's waiting arms and he spun me around, exactly like he did when we first met in the streets of Courescant. I was minutes away from all-out sobbing, but I contained myself. He set me back on the ground, then put his arms behind his head, just like Naruto was formerly known to do.

"Keep that up and you'll be in the winner's circle before anyone could blink."

I grinned at them until my jaw started to ache. We walked back home at a leisurely pace, nearly oblivious to the craziness going on around us.

Almost.

Not quite there, but close.

The three of us walked down the main corridor, the Obi Wan nodded to Shika and I, then turned down the hallway that led directly to his room. I smiled my farewell, and Shikamaru yawned. Obi Wan-sensei chuckled and continued to his door. Shikamaru and I kept walking. Eventually, he turned off to his own room with his "See you in the morning"-type yawn.

I smirked contentedly. "Good night, Shikamaru. And thanks."

He turned back for just a second. "For what, Sakura?"

I started again towards my own room. "For finding me."

I remember seeing a hint of a smile on Shikamaru's weary lips.

I opened my door slowly, and slipped through the small crack. I flipped the light switch, and I turned to my reflection in the large mirror that covered the inside of my door.

To start, my wig was messed up, my makeup was smudged, my leggings had been torn in a few places, my awesome boots were all scuffed up, and the rest of my clothes were at least speckled with dirt. But overall, I was perfectly fine.

_Hey_ I thought to myself, _Not__bad__for__a__girl__on__the__battlefield.__Not__bad__at__all._

My bedtime ritual was different that night.

I started with the wig, and brushed it until it shone. I hand-washed all my clothes, and sewed up my tights. I washed off all the makeup that was starting to feel like it was crusting to my face (bleck), and I polished off the scuff marks on my boots.

I continued normally from there. I brushed my hair and teeth, then I changed into the pajamas that I had made for myself shortly after arriving in this place. I looked at the girl in the mirror again; she looked extremely tired, and it was time for the both of us to get to bed. I smiled at my reflection, and flicked the light back off. Then I lay down on my bed. I pulled my feet under the warm, cozy comforter, and stared up at the whiteness that made up my ceiling. I thought about Naruto, Shikamaru, home, and everybody waiting for us there. A single tear slid silently down my face and…

…Into my _ear._

I giggled at myself for a second, wondering just how many times that had happened in books, movies, etc.

_'__Only__about__4__billion__times,__' _came the author's voice, but gentler than before.

"So true," I muttered, then smiled one last time and lay there, running through the day's events in my head. I had beaten a weird guy with a sword made out of light, moved on to the next round of a strange tournament, made a new friend (could you really call Trynt a friend?), and failed to find Naruto. Again.

I sighed and turned over to my other side. _Please__let__me__find__him._

My eyes fluttered shut, and that was the last coherent thought I had before I drifted into unconsciousness.

I know it's cliché, but stay with me. _Please_.


	14. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The next morning was pretty damn hectic.

I had slept in for the first time in ages, and I had to be the one who woke Shikamaru from his temporary hibernation and made breakfast. So pretty much, what ended up happening was that I was throwing on my costume, periodically forgetting things here and there, and I hadn't eaten any breakfast, and I still had to do my makeup, and everything was going on at once. Obi Wan just sat back and did nothing, waiting for something to happen.

Then Shikamaru yelled at me to "Stop running around like a frightened jackrabbit, dammit", and I finally calmed down enough so he could think straight. He ended up being the one to get Master Obi Wan and I out the door in time; we made it to the arena with just seconds to spare.

It turned out that everyone was going to be fighting two matches that day to leave a full day for the championship. I was going to be fighting against one of the other girls, Mintry, but my second to-be-victim was TBD.

My match was first again, and Mintry turned out to be just another non-challenging opponent. I basically kicked her legs out from under her and shoved my blade in her face. _How__the__hell__did__this__girl__even__get__past__the__first__round?_ I thought skeptically.

"Mintry's first opponent dropped out before the match took place for those of you wondering how she ever got to the second round," the announcer murmured into his mic, right on cue.

_Well,__that__explains__a__lot._ I shrugged and listened to the crowd's at least slightly enthusiastic applause. I could tell they were starting to like me.

My next match was against a guy named The Pounder. He was such a geek; he had a mask and everything down to the cheesy catchphrase and neon orange tights. The crowd roared with approval, and it was completely obvious that he was the main favorite among the spectators. He probably would give a good show.

I took my normal pose across the ground from him, and the fight commenced. I figured out a little late why he was called "The Pounder"; and boy, did he ever pound. But then again, I had some pretty good fists of my own, not to mention Lady Tsunade's training and medical ninjutsu, so I won that one too.

And just like that, I was in the finals.

When the day of fighting was over, I ran into Shikamaru's arms and started nearly crying. "What if he really isn't here? What if he's actually on the other side of the—"

Shikamaru cut me off by putting his hand over my mouth. "Shut up. Just shut up, Sakura. Can you even hear yourself?"

I sniffled with a teeny shrug, and my voice was muffled by his hand. "But I—"

"No. You clearly have a concussion from The Pounder hitting you in the head, because the regular Sakura would never worry _that_ much about Naruto. Now where is the real Sakura?

I steeled myself and stepped away from him. I placed my right fist directly over my heart, but then I straightened my fingers to my brow.

"Here. Present and reporting for duty."

He grinned at my salute. "At ease."

I got home with Obi Wan-sensei and Shikamaru later, at around 2 o'clock. But I was so incredibly tired that I went straight upstairs and took a super long nap. It was 3 AM—I had slept for a full thirteen hours.

I stumbled out of bed, incredibly groggy. I slouched downstairs and saw that the lights in the kitchen were already on. I walked in, and saw Shikamaru sitting at the table, a cup of tea that smelled like Japanese green, and a picture of him, Temari, Naruto and I when we went on our first of many double-dates. He looked up tentatively at me. "Couldn't sleep?"

I shook my head thoughtfully. "Can I have some? Tea, I mean."

"Yeah, sure. Sugar?" He stood to get it for me. He poured it slowly and brought it back.

"You know how I like it—enough to destroy an entire military division—infantry, cavalry, artillery and all. Here, dump a bunch a this in." I held out the canister in question.

"Sure. But wait," Shikamaru was making his "what a drag" expression. "Isn't sugar something a little too, ah…sweet…to kill all those people?"

I glared at him. "You know I'm not good with metaphors and similes and stuff like that at this time of night…er, morning."

"Ha ha," He smirked at me softly. I sat down next to him and looked at our happy faces in the glossy picture on the counter. I turned to him. "Wouldn't Temari be about ready to come to the Leaf Village around this time for the Chunin Exams?"

He shrugged. "Time might pass differently in this dimension, but if it would pass like it does back home, then, yeah, I guess that would be around this time."

I pulled my feet up onto the chair so I could hug my knees. "I wonder what she'll do without you…"

"I've wondered that pretty much every day. About everyone else too. How Ino and Choji are doing on their missions without our 'Ino-Shika-Cho' battle formations, especially. But occasionally other people pop onto my train of thought, like Shino and Kakashi, and those people."

I nodded. "That's how it is for me too. I normally think a lot about all the people back home and how different it would be without us there."

"And, with a slight change in subject, about the tournament," Shikamaru scratched the spot beneath his ear. "I hear that people have taken to calling you 'Arukas of the Pink Blade' or something like that."

I rubbed my face. "Oh, I kind of wish I could tell them my real name—'Sakura of the Pink Blade' sounds like a title much better suited to me. Heck, it would probably be a good book title too."

He chuckled once, and we continued on for almost an hour, laughing about stuff, consoling each other, and just relaxing. Then, eventually, Shikamaru smiled at me and stood up. "Well, it'd best to get to bed. You've got a championship match to fight tomorrow, and I've got nothing to do except watch you. So good night."

"Yeah, alright. 'Night."

I waved and went back to my room. I felt better about things now. I fell over my bed that was only barely warm from the last time I had gotten into it, almost an hour ago. I closed my eyes and smirked up at the ceiling. Then it hit me that I was actually going to see Naruto tomorrow, if all went as planned.

I rolled over and thought, _It__had__better__…_

And then I slept.


	15. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

I woke up the next morning tired, but pretty energized considering that I was up at three with Shikamaru. I suited up and ran out the door with my friends, ready for my match to start.

I screeched to a sudden stop. "Do you think I'll be okay? Will Naruto be there? Who am I fighting? What if—"

"Whoa, motor-mouth," Shikamaru dropped next to me. "Slow down. As to your questions, yeah, probably and they'll tell you when we get there. Now just cool it."

I blew out a big breath. "Okay. Cooling in process."

Shika laughed and mussed up my wig. I rolled my eyes and rearranged it. "Okay. So I'm fighting in the championship match against a guy who can…wait, what _can_ he do?"

"Oh," Obi Wan popped up right behind me, making me jump. "He seems to have chakra, a lot like yours."

"What? How can that be possible? How is there another person from our dimension here?" I yelled, "That can't be—"

Shikamaru sighed. "What a drag. Sakura, will you just listen to yourself? Then think about how Naruto, you and I all got here."

That cleared m head a little. "So what you're saying is that—"

"Yeah. It's very possible that there was an earlier incident and they got sent here, just like we did."

My eyes widened as I spun to face Shikamaru. "You mean before the rest of the—"

He bit his lip uncertainly. "I'm not completely sure if it was an Uchiha who sent that guy, but it's probably not that likely. My guess is that they got sent off when Orochimaru attacked the Hidden Leaf during the Chunin Exams."

I nodded slowly and thought about what he meant. My hand went to my mouth, a habit I had picked up from Obi Wan-sensei. "It sounds plausible considering what we've already been through, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I'm just gonna ask 'im what's up during that match later."

Shikamaru hissed in a breath. "The match! If we don't kick ourselves in the asses, we're gonna be late!"

So after that, there was zero talking. I ran into the arena just as the announcer called my name. My eyes flicked back to Shikamaru and Obi Wan, who were climbing the steps and running to the few seats that were still shaded, under a huge balcony. I scanned the overhang out of habitual curiosity. There was a near-blinding glint of sunlight off of something silver. I squinted up at it and saw that the shine was coming from a piece of metal attached to someone's forehead. My head jerked to the guy and I saw…

…A random person I didn't know.

"So Naruto's giving out copies of his headband to people in this dimension," I breathed to myself. "What a knucklehead…"

I looked around at the balcony some more and saw that a bunch of people had the headbands, but no one else in the whole arena had them. But I also saw Trynt up on the balcony, leaning over the edge. Surprisingly, he had a headband wrapped around his neck, just like Temari used to wear hers, and how Hinata still does. I waved, but he didn't see me (more like pretended not to). There was a large but plain concrete chair with a superior air about it. Guards with more of the shinobi headbands stood at attention nearby, even though it remained vacant.

I turned back to the guy I was going to fight and the referee who was monologue-ing happily away.

"Arukas Onurah, blah-de-blah, blah fighting Celeron Lust, blah blah…"

The ref guy finally finished his piece, and silence commenced.

"And let the championship game…_begin_!"

Crickets chirped.

Nothing happened.

At all.

I looked up at the balcony's throne, but it now had someone sitting in it. I could tell from the person's body shape that it was a guy. He was wearing a brown hooded cloak, much like Obi Wan-sensei's and the rest of the Council's cloaks. I looked at his hands, which were gripping the arms of his chair and twitching compulsively. I _knew_ that twitch though…

My eyes went to his face. Well, at least the lower half—the hood covered the top half of his features. His cheeks were mostly covered, but I could barely see the beginnings of whisker-esque birthmarks. His lips had that look to them that showed that, even through his current stony expression, he smiled and grinned a lot.

And Celeron had to choose _that__very__moment_ to charge me.

I flipped out of his way and turned just in time to see him weave hand signs for the Chakra Scalpel. He held his hand in the way that Kabuto, the jerk, always did. Then he came at me again.


	16. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

I jumped out of the way. Then I yelled, "Wait, stop! I have to ask you something!"

Celeron laughed as he spun and came at me again. "Do you really think I'm going to cease in my blaze of glory just because a little girl like you asked me to?"

I flipped up on to the edge of the balcony that held my future, and busted up laughing. "If that statement was scary, then I'm not an awesome girl with a pink lightsaber. And so cliché nonetheless!" I cracked up some more.

And then he was right behind me, his sword at my throat. The laughter caught in my throat as there was a collective gasp from the crowd. A small clump of my wig fell to the ground

My shadow clone faded and I came from behind. I almost grazed him with my saber, but then his form disappeared as well, and I was alone on the edge of the balcony. Shocked whispers came from the spectators, and I jumped back to the ground. The I checked all around me.

_Nobody__on__the__left.__He__'__s__not__on__the__right__either.__Nothing__from__above__…_ I bit my lip, deep in thought. _So__he__must__be__…_

"Below!" I yelled without meaning to. I punched the ground with my Cherry Blossom Impact and saw him among the fissured remains. "Gotcha."

An overwhelming sense of déjà vu followed, and I remembered that exact same situation, except then, I was going against Kakashi-sensei.

He attacked right away, leaving me no time to recuperate. I jumped as soon as I could, but Celeron's lightsaber nicked the inside of my arm. I had luckily dodged the Scalpel, but the small gash still stung, and I winced. It was shallow cut, though, and I healed it easily with my medical ninjutsu. We had stopped, our chests heaving, on opposite ends of the arena.

But something that really got me was that he didn't seem surprised that I was a ninja medic. It was almost like he had expected it.

I stood shakily, but quickly regained my balance. Then I asked my question.

"Who are you?"

He smirked. "Is that seriously what you wanted to know? I'm Celeron Lust, obviously."

"No, that's not what I meant, and you know it. Who are you, as in, what village are you from. Your real name and clan, and how you could tell that I'm a medical-type."

He shrugged with an exasperated sigh, then held out a hand to me, like he was telling me to stop. "Do you really think I'm gonna tell you those things?" He slashed his hand to the side. "Bitch please."

My clone burned his sword-wielding hand from behind, and then held her lightsaber incredibly close to his neck. His own discharged hilt clattered to the ground and rolled into a large crack that I had created a minute ago. He was weaponless, and there were two of me. This would end quickly. _But__never__mind,__he__has__jutsu__like__me._ I thought unhappily. _Yippee,__more__work._

I was beginning to act more like Shikamaru every day.

I was unpleasantly jerked from my daydream of me acting exactly like Shika about a minute later, when Celeron sliced my clone with his Chakra Scalpel and she disappeared. I sheathed my lightsaber and threw it down another chasm. It clunked to the bottom, and I smirked.

We would face each other as equals.

As shinobi.

I created the genjutsu I used on Obi Wan-sensei during our first sparring match. Celeron was enveloped right away, and he didn't know it until later. He started running around, looking freaked out at stuff that wasn't even really there. Eventually, he ran into a wall, and was shaken from his hellish fantasy. He shakily rose to his full height, but he didn't stay for long. I was relaxing with my eyes closed, and he went right for my throat. I barely opened my eyes while he was about to cut my head off.

But then Celeron grunted. My eyes fluttered with a yawn, and I stretched until I felt a quick slice. I was awake before anyone could twitch, and my gaze shot to the base of my right wrist, right near the crease in my skin. The muscles had been damaged, though my skin remained untouched.

But a certain hand-scalpel was half-blocking my vision, two inches from my nose.

My eyes flicked to his feet, and I saw a familiar warped shadow. I scanned the crowd, and saw Shikamaru standing on his seat, his shadow snaking its way into connecting with Celeron's. I stepped back and nodded to Shikamaru fervently. He raised an eyebrow. All was quiet for just a moment, and then alarms were blaring left and right. My eyes faded from pink back to green as guards rushed in and grabbed Shikamaru, who was too tired from overextending his shadow to resist. I began to be dragged from under the arms by more security people off the playing field. But I was pulling myself away from the doorway that they were trying to get me through.

I had to beat Celeron.

I had to see Naruto.

_I__just__had__to_.

I thrashed like crazy, but then I knew that they would never give up and I was running low on energy, so I broke down and sobbed as they dragged me away. I watched my feet slide through the gravel of the tunnel that led from the dreaded doorway.

Everything was red from the lights flashing, and everything was blurry from my tears, and if something wasn't red-tinted or blurry, they were my mental images of Naruto and everyone back home. But then one picture spoke.

"Let her go! By my command as the sponsor of this damn tournament, I said_let__her__go!__"_


	17. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

The burly people all around me withdrew, and I was set gently on the ground. Tears continued to streak down my face. My makeup was running horribly, but I didn't care. I could barely see the faded outlines of what looked like soldiers, all in a strict salute. My subconscious recognized the voice, then a warm hand touched my elbow. I pulled away, but then I was grabbed up into a totally _smex_-_aayyy_ pair of arms. They hugged me close, a warm and well-known hug that I just about melted into.

One of the hands stroked my wig off my head and smoothed my hair under my headband. I stopped crying and just sat there. Neither of us spoke for the longest time. Truth be told, I didn't open my eyes for a while either. But eventually, my eyes slid open to reveal who I had been looking for all this time.

Naruto's face was inches from mine, and our foreheads were touching. I was sitting there like an idiot in punk clothes and yucky makeup, but everything was okay, all because I didn't have to look anymore.

A single tear slipped from my left eye, and my body went limp. As my world went dark, I heard him call out to me, then for a stretcher.

So, basically, I fainted. My life can only be so cliché, right?

I stopped asking myself that question _years_ ago.

I came to in a hospital bed, because this is _my_ (overly cliché) life we're talking about. I opened my eyes slowly, and a sleeping Naruto's mussed blonde hair came into focus. The little spikes were poking me in my left elbow, tickling the tender little spot where the doctors had inserted my IV. I looked all around me and heaved a sigh that was both relieved and exasperated; I was relieved that none of this was a dream, but exasperated that I, of all people, was in the hospital. What can I say—I'm normally the one healing, not the one needing to be healed.

I chuckled quietly and Naruto's head slipped off the bed. The falling sensation woke him. "Wha? Where's—?" He saw me, and a ginormous grin split his delirious features "Oh, how're you feeling, Sakura?"

"I'm o—" I tried to speak, but he cut me off. I must've kept him waiting for a while.

"Good, because we really have ta get back to the village. I _seriously_ need an extra-large extra-everything ramen from Ichiraku's. Wanna—"

"Whoa, hold your horses, hotshot. I just woke up from fainting a while ago. As in, I'm still recovering. So cool it, if you don't mind."

"Oops. Sorry," He gave me a sheepish grin that melted my heart. He really did look adorable like that.

I sat up. "It's okay. I'm just kidding," Then something occurred to me. "Wait, is Shikamaru here?"

Naruto pursed his lips. "Not right now. He's doing a supplies run—accompanied by two guards and a pair of handcuffs."

My eyes widened. "Do they really take these things _that__seriously?_"

"Guess so. Apparently, interfering with someone else's fight is a federal offence."

"Sheesh. That's crazy-psycho."

"Pretty much."

We sat in a comfortable silence until, about a minute later, Trynt knocked on the doorframe, still wearing the leaf crest like before. "Sakura, can I come in?"

"Trynt? Sure, but why did you come to see me? Plenty of other people were injured, yet you come to see _me._ Why? And how the hell do you know my real name now?"

"Well, you see, I was employed by Naruto to enter the tournament to see if you were there. And he was right—you were."

I considered this. "Wow. You really do know me as well as you think you do, Naruto."

He smiled at me. "Do you really expect me not to?"

I shrugged and frowned at Trynt. "So everything we talked about was basically a lie on your end?"

"No, just a half-truth. I actually _was_ trying when I fought that first match, sadly."

I whistled. "Wo-ow."

"Shut up," He rolled his eyes and blushed.

I snickered for a little bit, then went back into serious mode. "So what happened with the match?"

Naruto and Trynt smirked at each other. "You lost by default."

I frowned. "What?"

"You fainted. You couldn't participate anymore. So you lost, no questions asked."

"But—"

"It doesn't matter anyway," Shikamaru walked in with his bodyguards, handcuffs, and two shopping bags full of goodies. "We found Naruto, so we don't have to worry about you winning anymore."

My frown deepened. "I guess you're right, but—"

I heard another knock. My eyes flew to who it was this time, and I was incredibly surprised to find that it was none other than Celeron Lust, the very guy who I had been trying to kill just hours ago. "Hey Arukas, can I come in for just a sec?"

"Yeah, sure. What's up?" I was on my guard, and it was showing in my voice.

"Look," he leaned up against the wall. "I just wanted to say no hard feelings, 'kay? The match was thrown by _that_guy," He gave Shikamaru a dirty look. "so we need to have a rematch sometime. Alright? That's it." He turned to leave.

"Wait," He stopped, luckily. "You never did tell me the stuff I wanted to know."

"Oh, yeah. But you'll owe me one. Can I sit?" He pointed to a chair.

I nodded and sat forward. "So what village are you from?"

"The Hidden Sand."

"How about your real name and clan?"

"That's classified," I cussed quietly. "But I _will_ tell you that I was one of the Fourth Kazekage's assistants right before Orochimaru killed him. Later, I was right under the wall that Orochimaru's snake crushed, and I'm guessing that's how I was sent here."

"I _knew_ it!" Shikamaru hissed triumphantly.

"Is that all you want to know?"

"One last thing: do you want to go home?"

"What?"

"I asked if you wanted to go home. To the Sand Village."

Celeron looked like he was starting to wonder if I was a crazy person. "Hell no. I love it here. I'm treated as a _somebody_ here. I was just an assistant there. This is my new home. Coruscant."

I looked him right in the eye. "So you _don__'__t_ want me to let you know when we finish rebuilding the space-time continuum."

He stared right back at me. "Nope."

I nodded. "If you're sure."

"I am." And he left the room without another sound.

My eyes followed his retreating form with scorn. _Unfaithful__bastard._ I thought contemptuously.


	18. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

A minute later, I looked at the heart-rate monitor. My pulse was at a steady 73. I paged the nurse and told her what was going on. She took some convincing her, but eventually, the nurse let me go with little more than a stern look. We waved to Trynt, as he had to go cash a recent paycheck that he had received from a certain spiky-haired blonde kid.

Then the three of us headed to the courthouse so we could free Shikamaru. Naruto paid the bail and Shikamaru was once again ours. After that, we all headed to the library—we seriously needed to study up on repairing the space-time continuum. But two hours and what felt like a billion and twelve books (it really was only twelve books) later, we had discovered exactly 1.5 facts.

"'In rebuilding the continuum, one must create an apocalyptic occurrence and be experiencing a simulated death'—well we already knew that, didn't we?"

My nerves were really being stretched, and I was starting to wonder if we really had to get back home _that__badly._ Naruto had given up ages ago, and had left to go wander off to a completely random place. Shikamaru was still searching patiently, just waiting for a much-needed piece of info to, I don't know, hop off the page or somethin'.

Anyway, the half-a-fact said "To jump between dimensions, the jumpers must loc…nd op…tal." Yeah, of course, some idiot had to spill black coffee right on that section, so it was almost completely unreadable.

I slammed the book shut angrily, shot to my feet and yelled. "Ugh! We can't find any damn information! And the stuff we _do_ find is either potentially deadly, or only half-legible! Dammit!"

Shikamaru jumped out of his chair as well and threw a hand over my mouth. "Sakura, you idiot! This is a frickin' _library!_" he whisper-shouted in my ear.

I ground my teeth. "Screw this shit-hole of a library. I'm going home."

As I started to storm off, Shika said something that froze my footsteps easier than a bucket full of liquid nitrogen.

"But that's just it. We need to put up with this so we _can_ get home."

I spun on my heel ve-ry slow-ly, just as I did every so often. I sighed hugely. "I know. I'm sorry. And I think I need a hug…"

"It's okay. C'mere."

He hugged me gently. "But one more thing. I've been thinking, and I'm pretty sure the blotted-out bits of our half-a-fact say locate and open the…something. I can't figure out the last word."

I scanned the page again, and bobbed my head slowly. "Yeah I see it too," I massaged my right temple. "But what have you tried for the end of the phrase?"

"Oh, only a few things, but either nothing makes sense, or it doesn't fit. I've thought over every metaphor anyone would use for this type of thing, but—"

"Did you try 'portal,' you moron?"

I could totally see him mentally plugging my word into the sentence, then, realizing his stupidity, he said "I was going to use that one next…"

I did my special sarcastic nod. "Yeah of course you were, you dork. Sometimes things are the hardest to find even though they're _right__in__front__of__you._"

"You're teasing me, aren't you?"

"Yep."

He chuckled softly. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah, thanks. I'm really sorry I blew up back there. I guess I just needed a hug."

"I already told you that it's fine. Everybody has bad days. It's okay."

"Alright. It won't happen again, though."

He nodded with a small smirk and sent me off to find Naruto. I rolled my eyes, but did as I was told.

I found him staring down an extremely dark stairwell that had a teeny little light in the distance. "Hi Naruto. So what's this?" I asked him. "What's going on?"

"Oh, hey Sakura. Well," he said, scratching his chin. "I don't actually know. I tried to get to the light, but after a few steps, it just panned out into desert sand under a door. I was scared to open the door for some reason, so I just turned and ran back up the stairs. Then I went down again and it led into a meat cellar."

"_What?__"_

"Yeah. So basically I've been standing here for something like ten minutes contemplating what happened. I've gone down a few more times but—"

I grinned. "Naruto, that's it! You found it!"

He looked immensely confused. "What did I—"

"C'mon! We have to tell Shikamaru!" And I grabbed his arm and ran right back to the library. We made a huge racket, and several people told us to "shut our Goddamn traps", but I just kept running and dragging Naruto behind me.

Shikamaru saw us come in the door. "Sakura, what the hell are you—"

"He found it!" I yelled triumphantly.

"Found what?"

I flipped my hair out of my face and mopped the sweat away from my hairline—it's pretty difficult to lug someone who outweighs you (by at least sixty pounds) more than a quarter-mile.

"The portal. Naruto found the portal."


	19. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

"The portal, huh?" was all Shikamaru would say. That and "hmmmm" over and over again. Eventually he retreated to his room, probably to think about what had just happened, but wouldn't say a word to Naruto or me. Talk about infuriatingly annoying.

Later, while I was eating a really good chicken sandwich in Obi Wan-sensei's kitchen, Naruto sped through the door, past me, up the stairs and out of sight.

"Naruto?" I yelled. No answer. I eventually put down my sammich and jogged up after him. I found him behind Shikamaru's closed door, yelling at someone, probably Shikamaru. I could barely make out a conversation.

"But…have...to tell her!" That was Naruto yelling.

"Naruto…shouting!" Shikamaru was telling him to shut up.

"Fine…we…have to t…though."

Shikamaru replied in a whisper that I couldn't hear through the super-thick door. I pressed my ear closer to the door, discarding my pride as a covert-information-retrieving ninja. And everything was suddenly clearer. Naruto was yelling again.

"We have to tell her, Shikamaru. We have to tell Sakura!"

I jerked away from the door. _Tell__me__what?_

"We can't! Not yet at least."

I went to my room.

I sat on my bed for hours, just contemplating what two of my best guys were keeping from me. I mean, it was nearly traumatizing, They had never done this before. It was a lot like having a favorite chair or something to rest on yanked out from under you.

I was never good with similes and metaphors and that crap, but you get my drift.

Eventually, I got up and went back downstairs. I saw my previously abandoned chicken sandwich, just sitting there, all alone.

It was looking a lot like I felt right then.

We comforted each other as I ate it.

But then I looked toward the ceiling and yelled "Well, Miz Author? Anything else planned for this chapter?"

_'__Nope.__'_ came the reply. I sighed. "Is it just me, or have you been getting lazy? Is this part even long enough to be called a chapter?"

_'__Not__really,__but__have__you__got__any__other__ideas,__Miz__Smart__Ass?__'_

"You could make me find the portal in the next chapter."

_'__I__could,__but__that__'__s__the__next__chapter.__And__I__don__'__t__think__I__will.__Not__yet.__' _She sounded deep in thought. _'__I__need__to__figure__out__a__way__to__incorporate__a__—__never__mind.__You__'__ll__find__out__soon__enough.__'_

I shrugged and finished my sandwich. It was all cold by now, but it was yummy, so who cares? Then I turned in early because I had nothing better to do.


	20. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

I woke up the next morning thinking about home. _We__really__do__have__to__get__back__to__the__Leaf__Village._ I thought with a slight frown.

I hopped up out of bed to go do some early training with Obi Wan-sensei.

"Wow, Sakura, you have really improved since you first came here."

We were both breathing hard and sweating. It felt nice to be given a real workout. We took a short water break, and that's when Naruto stumbled in. He had a distant expression on his face, and I was about to say something to him when I realized that he was covered in blood. I had no time to react before he started to fall and my medical instincts kicked in. I caught him and began working in one fluid motion. I checked his chakra level.

It was almost untouched.

I went through the rest of his systems and everything was in working order. _Could__the__blood__be__somebody__else__'__s?_ My mind was on overdrive, and I was thinking about five things at once. Then he started to speak, and I froze.

"S…Sakura…"

"Naruto, don't speak, honey. I'll have you up in just a second, so—"

"Phsyyyyyche!"

Naruto was seriously laughing, like, hard core. He was physically rolling on the floor, laughing his ass off.

But I, on the complete other hand, was pissed.

"NARUTO!" I slugged him, and he was down for the count. "I was completely worried about you! Did you _conveniently_ _forget_ that we just happen to be _stranded_ in a _totally_ _different_ _dimension?_ And now you have enough nerve to be playing _practical_ _jokes_ on me? "How do ya think that makes me _feel_? I oughta _pound_ you…!"

"I'm sorry, Sakura, I really am! I didn't mean to make you worry, honest! I just wanted you to lighten up a little—you've been so stressed lately, and I thought you might need a break."

I was still kinda mad, but his true intentions had chilled me out a little. "Ya could've just asked instead of totally freaking me out like that…"

"I'll save that for future reference."

I smirked. "Good boy."

So we quickly found Shikamaru and told him what we were going to be doing for the rest of the day. He looked kinda pleased, but whether it was because he was happy for us or he got to sleep some more, I didn't know.

Naruto took me to some of his favorite places in the city, and we shuttled around the planet, sightseeing and doing other fun stuff. We saw the huge train station, and the monuments, and…well, everything.

When Naruto was finished with teasing me about my obvious mistake and showing me around to all he places he'd been, we headed home. I saw Shikamaru watching us from his window with a smirk on his face. I gave him a look that said _What__'__s__up__with__you?_, and I knew Naruto was doing the same. Shikamaru shook his head and gestured for us to come inside. I dragged Naruto inside right as he tried to kiss me to tease Shikamaru. I yanked him all the way to Shikamaru's room, in fact.

"What's shakin', Shika?"

"Don't call me that. I've been doing some research on the whole portal idea."

"Ooh!" I grinned. "So what kind of stuff have you been digging up?"

"I think I actually found something pretty important, but we need to go back to the library for a little bit so I can make sure I read it correctly. I think I may have discovered a new lead."

"That's great!" Naruto yelled.

"Will shut up, you idiot?" You could practically see the vein popping in Shikamaru's forehead.

"Sorry."

During the library trip, we found a large volume all about portals and alternate universes. Coincidentally, it was right next to the place where we found the book that gave us our first clue. But not-so-coincidentally (apparently _uncoincidentally_ isn't a frickin' word—look it up), its slip cover had swapped with that of a cooking reference book—I came across it because I wanted to see what kind of food I could make for lunch tomorrow.

Anyway, I was studying the book with Shikamaru and Naruto, and it kept mentioning something about locating and opening a portal to jump between dimensions.

"Wait!" Naruto said loudly, earning shushes from the other people in the library and a glare from Shikamaru. "I've heard that before somewhere…"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," I said tentatively. "It seems way too familiar to be the first time we've heard it."

Shikamaru pursed his lips and muttered "Ugh, what a drag," Then, louder, he said "That's because…oh, I'll let you see for yourself."

He rubbed his eyes with his right hand and handed me the other book from before with his left. I took it, and Naruto and I got in really close and looked at it again. Shikamaru had written in the smudged-out parts that we thought were right. "'To jump between dimensions, the jumpers must locate and open a portal'—hey, that was in the other book!"

"That's what I've been trying to—oh, whatever." Shikamaru said tiredly. We were really putting wear-and-tear on his nerves.

"Hey, look." I said after a few seconds of silence, something that Shikamaru really deserved. "There's an asterisk-star-thingy."

"Where?" Shikamaru and Naruto said at the same time.

"Right there," I pointed to the end of the phrase.

My eyes shot to the bottom of the page where the extra information would be. I found an in-text citation. "Shikamaru!"

"What?"

"This is a citation to _that_ _book_!" I pointed vigorously to the open volume on the table in front of Naruto and I. "This passage is from that book!"

Naruto frowned, confused. "What's that? A 'citation', I mean."

Shikamaru and I face-palmed simultaneously. "Don't worry about it."

"Here's the lead I found," Shikamaru said a while later. He pointed out the section of words as we continued our search. A few hours later, after much researching and listening to Naruto snore, we called it quits and headed off to dinner with Obi Wan-sensei.


	21. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

After we had all finished eating, Naruto, Shikamaru and I parted ways to rest before bed. I was sitting on my bed in my PJs after a long, hot shower. I ran my brush through my water-tangled hair while I thought about home. Then when I was finished brushing my hair, I read one of my favorite books, a romance novel, while humming a favorite song of mine, a show-tune from an old Disney movie.

Shikamaru was sitting on his floor reading a puzzle book that Obi Wan had given him. One of the problems was being tricky, so he assumed his trademark pose: on one knee with his fingers in a relaxed circle near his stomach. He figured it out and moved onto the next puzzle, thinking about Ino, Choji, Asuma-sensei, and just home in general.

Naruto had snuck downstairs to the training center. He didn't feel like talking to anyone at the moment, not even Sakura.

Well, maybe Sakura, but he didn't feel like putting that to the test.

He scrutinized a kunai, then threw it expertly at the target in his blind spot, all with barely a movement. He created his Rasengan, but then let it fade after a moment. He considered trying out his Rasen-Shuriken on something to keep in practice, but he ended up deciding that being destructive was probably not the best way to get on the Council's good side. A little while later, he slipped back upstairs and went straight to bed, but tossed and turned for a while after that.

I looked up from my book and saw the clock. It read 1 AM, and I was appalled at my unusually late bedtime. Time had really flown. I folded down the corner of my page, stretched, and pulled the cord on the light to turn it off. I slumped back on my pillows and smiled at the darkness that surrounded me. But the darkness was soon fractured by a beam of light and a shadow that showed Naruto poking his head through the door. "Sakura, I can't sleep."

He sounded exactly like a little kid. I was about to tell him to just go back to bed, but then I sat up in bed.

"Okay, then. Go get some shoes on and meet me back here in five minutes."

I took him by the hand out to a park that I enjoyed to meditate in. "Sit," I told him quietly, motioning to a soft patch of grass swathed in moonlight. He did. I placed myself right across from him, and close enough that our knees were touching.

"So what's been bothering you?" I asked him, still holding his warm fingers between my hands.

Naruto shrugged. "Nothing, really. I…I just…I don't even know anymore. Everything's just so…"

I leaned over, hugged him and kissed his cheek. "I know what you mean. But don't worry, we'll be home soon."

He smiled softly and nodded. Then he pulled me into his arms then slowly laid us back so we could look at the stars together. I half-smiled up at the moon and stars, and shivered a little at the slight breeze that barely brushed my shoulders. Naruto rubbed my arms slowly and sighed, but neither of us really said anything for a long time.

We watched the celestial beings dance across the sky, and I eventually sat up. "Hey Naruto?"

He pulled up on to his elbows. "Hey what?"

"I think we should head back. Judging by the stars, I think it's almost 5:00."

"Could we wait a just a little while longer? I wanna see the sunset."

I shrugged and pulled him up into a sitting position next to me so I could rest my head on his shoulder. "Okay then. I can wait for a few more minutes."

A little while after I said that, Naruto started in with "The Finger". My eyes closed slowly and our lips met just as the first rays of bright sunlight came over the horizon. We pulled away slowly and looked at the gorgeous sky. It was painted with dazzling yellow and orange rays, purple clouds, and a perfect navy blue backdrop.

I sighed happily as Naruto kissed me again. This really was a good life, and maybe this dimension wasn't so bad after all. We held each other and just relaxed for a short while longer, but then I stood all the way up and smiled. "C'mon Naruto. We really do have to get going."

"Ah. Okay." He stood up too, and gave me one of his perfect hugs. "And thanks for everything. I feel so much better now."

I had no reply except to whisper in a small voice, "I love you."

I could feel Naruto blush as he eventually replied, "I-I love you too."

I stepped back and grinned, ecstatic at his reaction. But I had something in mind. "Race ya back to the building."

"You got it, Arukas." He smiled back at me.

"Shut it. Ready…set…GO!"

And we were off, running towards a new future with each other.


	22. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

I had him beat until about five yards until I would hit the threshold, but I stopped us both. Then we came through the door, his arm around my shoulders, and my arm around his waist. I scanned the wall clock; it read 5:15 AM. _Have__we__really__been__gone__that__long?_I thought, surprised.

"Well, you two," Shikamaru stood in front of us, his arms crossed. "You've really outdone yourselves _this_ time."

"Eh heh heh…" Naruto scratched his head with an animated sweatdrop by his temple.

"We were just—" I started to say, but Shikamaru cut me off.

"Look, I don't even wanna know. I was just worried about you. Having to babysit the two of you is _such_ a drag…" Shikamaru turned away. "Ugh. Anyway, I'm going back to bed. Don't bug me for another three hours at _least_."

Naruto and I watched him walk back to his room. Then he said to me, "Aah, let him think what he wants."

I shrugged my shoulders and stiffened a yawn. Naruto smiled and said, "Yeah, exactly how much sleep did you get last night? A few minutes?"

"Less. And I know you got precisely zero Z's yourself."

He nodded brightly. "Well. It's time for bed. G'night, Sakura."

"Goodnight, Naruto. See ya later in the morning."

"I love you."

He had definitely caught me off guard, but I recovered quickly and smiled. "I love you too."

We gave each other a quick hug and turned to go our separate rooms.

A few days later, Naruto, Shikamaru and I ran into Celeron Lust and three or four of his buddies, including Vanite Exodus, at the market. It took Vanite some convincing to get him to understand that I was Arukas, but he eventually got it. So we all hung out for a while, and I teased them both about having technically beating them. They grinned and bore it.

This whole snap-decision-to-get-together eventually turned into a full-blown party at the Council building's official training facility. We okayed the idea with Obi Wan-sensei, then began planning—I was the coordinator because it was my idea in the first place. I sent Celeron back to the store to get food, a few guys I don't really know with him for drinks, Vanite to get a few decorations (Punch bowl, table, etc.), and two other guys to go find a good DJ and help him set up his equipment. A while later, we all met back up and set the stage.

It all ended up working out pretty well, but then I realized that I was pretty much, no, I _was_ the only girl there.

"You, you, Vanite and Celeron!" I pointed to the four guys. "Go talk to some girls and tell them to get their asses over here _pronto._" I thought for a second. "Only don't use that exact wording—be more polite, if you don't mind."

"Ma'ma, yes ma'am!" Off they went.

I grabbed a bottle of Dr. Pepper and chilled as I waited for the guys to come back with more girls. I chatted with the DJ a little, explaining our dilemma. He started hitting on me, but I basically told him to go kiss someone else's ass.

My guys came back with the other ladies, and the party started. At first, everyone just screwed around, but then I _think_ someone spiked the punch (I never had anything but Dr. P and the occasional lime Coke or MD), and things started to get really crazy. If you stood against any given wall, you could've seen at the _very__least,_ three couples making out, gyrating, or doing something else stupid.

_Whoa,_ I thought, amazed at how many people were drunk, _For__some__reason,__I__'__m__infinitely__grateful__that__Lee__isn__'__t__here.__I__can__only__imagine__what__would__be__happening__if__he__were__…_

I found Naruto in the middle of a huge crowd, dancing like a crazy person. I couldn't tell if he was drunk or not. "Hey Naruto!" I yelled over the extremely loud music, "C'mere for a second—I've gotta talk to you about something!"

He nodded and calmly extracted himself from the group with apologies and stuff like that. "What's up with you?"

"Well, I'm just wanted to tell you to think about two things: 1) Where's Shikamaru?"

"I have no clue. Want me to find him and drag him back here?"

"That would be great, thanks. And 2)…" I told him my thought about my Rock Lee thought.

He laughed, and kissed my cheek. "Nice one. Now I'm gonna go get Shikamaru, so just wait one sec, 'kay?"

I nodded contentedly, and, with a smile, he slipped away. I watched him swagger off. I sat there, swigging my Mountain Dew and waiting for him to come back. I gazed out over the crowd and saw the tipsy Vanite tripping over his own feet and laughing hysterically. Celeron, also completely buzzed, was lounging in a crowd of three or four ladies, just sitting there, chugging his (spiked) punch to probably impress them.

Then a drunken someone stumbled up behind me and slung an arm around my shoulders. It was one of the guys who had gone to get drinks, and I'm guessing that he was the one to spike them well. "Hey, beautiful."

His voice was so slurred that I wasn't sure of what he really said, but then I understood. "Alright, let's find you a place to sit. I don't want you to get hurt."

I took his hand and led his obedient form in the general direction of the metal folding chairs I had seen some people put out earlier. I was in sight of them when all of a sudden, he grabbed me by the back of the neck and threw me up against a wall.

I hissed on impact. Then he was there. He was trying to kiss me.

I froze uncharacteristically. "S-stop."

He was sucking on my cheekbone, like he wanted to give me a hickey, as 'trés nas-_tay__'_ as that is. I smacked him across the face, but he retaliated by flipping me around to face the wall, and grabbing both my hands in one of his own. With his other, he squeezed my boob.

And while he was giving me that hickey, his pelvis was ramming my tailbone so hard that it reminded me a lot of when I used to fall on my ass at least once a week—painful, I know. I started sobbing. "Stop it, dammit! I said stop, you son of a bitch! I SAID LET ME GO!"

Then he was pulled off me forcefully, and I gasped.

Naruto had come back with Shika, and he was beating up my captor. Black fire was in his eyes.

"_Sakura!_ Are you okay?" Shikamaru was in a frenzy, making sure I was alright. "What did that asshole do to you?"

I was still crying, but I tried to be as clear as I could through my tears. "I…He just…Um…"

"It's okay now. He's not going to hurt you anymore." Shikamaru soothed me, holding my shaking figure. I could see that he wanted to kill that jerk as much as Naruto did. A crowd had gathered to watch the fight between Naruto and the butthead who had nearly violated me. I watched them circle each other for a minute, then a wave of exhaustion blasted me, and I fell asleep in Shikamaru's arms to the sounds of punching, grunts, and cheering.

"Please let Naruto be okay…" I whispered, then I passed out. But right before I lost total consciousness, I saw Obi Wan-sensei's figure appear in the doorway. _But__what__'__s__he__…__ah__…_

And I was out.


	23. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

I came back a minute later, and Naruto had a Shadow Clone out; he was starting to create his Rasengan. The markings on his face thickened and a faint red glow began surrounding him; Nine-Tails was starting to possess Naruto. _Am__I__really__that__big__of__a__deal__to__him?_ I thought, abashed.

I watched as Naruto created another Shadow Clone, then applied his change in chakra nature—he was forming his Rasen-Shuriken.

My sense of relaxation and slight embarrassment gave way to shock and horror as I realized that Naruto was going to use his ultimate weapon on a civilian. But then, part of me realized that something looked different about that bit of space that Rasen-Shuriken covered. It was almost as if the world was slowly warping and spiraling.

Then time slowed and I thought, _The__portal._ I looked at Shikamaru and he stared back at me with widened eyes and nodded. We were on the same page.

The portal was opening.

I shoved Shikamaru towards the blaze of light that had begun spreading throughout the room. "Go! I'll be right behind you!"

I yelled, _"__Naruto!_ Keep the Rasen-Shuriken going! There's a portal that's being opened!"

I thought I saw him nod as I quickly turned to Celeron. "This is your last chance to change our mind. You comin' or not?"

The bright lights had shaken him halfway out of his drunken haze. "Naaaw. I like it here…*yawn*…lotsa babes to keep me comp'ny…"

I rolled my eyes with a slight smirk. I was really gonna miss that kid.

I spun on my heel ve-ry slow-ly to face the man who had been my sensei for the past six months. "Goodbye, Obi Wan Kenobi-sensei. I can't say I'll be seeing you." He nodded, dumbfounded. I faced my ticket back home, but then I remembered something. "Oh! Sensei!" I threw him my lightsaber. "Keep this for me. Tell my legacy to all your next apprentices, and show them my sword. Call it the story of 'Sakura of the Pink Blade'."

"But won't you be—?"

"Needing it? No. Keep it where it belongs, but always remember my name."

He bowed his head solemnly. "I swear on my title as and elder of the Jedi Council. Your story shall be forever known."

I smiled and spun around to face Naruto. "Okay, Naruto. I only need it for another second…" I waved one last time at Obi Wan-sensei, and I could've sworn that I saw tears running down his cheeks.

A millisecond later, I felt the familiar sensation of falling through space, time and dimensions. I was spinning, twisting, and turning so quickly that I'm sure, that, if my eyes had been closed, I wouldn't have felt anything move at all. And every thought that went through my head was basically "Where're the other two?", "Are we going in the right direction?", or "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING _OOONN_?"

Then everything stopped, and, while suspended in midair for what felt like a full minute, I thought with an ominous sense of déjà vu, _How__many__times__do__I__have__to__fall__on__my__ass__before__the__author__is__satisfied?_

What happened next?

You do the _frickin__'_ math.


	24. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Yes, my ass was hurting badly. Yes, I was aching all over. Yes, I was starting to get a little motion sickness from our dimension-jumping. Yeah, all that and more.

But I was finally home.

I teared up a little as I looked up at the sky and its familiar shade of blue. I wiped the corner of my eyes, and scanned the area around me and saw people beginning to gather, whispering excitedly. I faced Naruto and Shikamaru, who were sitting (more like sprawled) on the asphalt next to me. "What's going on?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and gave himself a painful-looking facepalm. Naruto sighed, exasperated. Then he said, "_Really_ Sakura? It's _us_."

Yeah, that would be a pretty big deal if you ask me. It's not every day that you see people appearing out of thin air.

"How long were we gone?" I asked, afraid of what the answer might be.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Beats me."

I frowned, then spoke up to the crowd. "What day is it?"

A timid little boy said cautiously, "It's July 23rd."

I gasped, and I heard and intake of breath from Naruto and Shikamaru as well.

We had been gone for six days.

"Naruto! Sakura! Shikamaru!"

I jumped to my feet and whirled to see Lady Tsunade and Shizune come dashing through the ring of people.

"Milady!" I said happily. She smiled widely.

"I'm so happy that you're alright. Where have you three been for the past six days?"

I glanced at Naruto and Shikamaru for a second, and I said slowly, "Now, that's a long story to tell. We're gonna need lots of tea and plenty of time."

Tsunade nodded thoughtfully. "Well, I think you might want to greet your friends, and I don't really have an opening until later, anyway. Let's meet at Ichiraku in two hours, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said with a slight bow.

"Sure, Granny," Naruto sighed. "Wait, we're meeting at Ichiraku's? Does that mean you'll be trea—"

"Shut up, you knucklehead!" I yelled, and got him in a headlock.

"Yeah, we'll be there," Shikamaru muttered, "Ugh…what a drag…"

"Anyway," I said, straightening up and brushing myself off. "Who should we say 'hi' to first?"

I didn't really have time to give suggestions, as I was immediately bowled over by a certain long-blonde-haired kunoichi, who happened to be my subordinate (kinda). "Sakura! You're okay!"

"Yeah, Ino. I'm fine, just a little tired is all."

She glared at me. "That's not what I meant and you know it. What happened? Where did you guys go?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Hm. I'll tell you later."

Ino huffed disapprovingly. "Fine, but I'll hold you to that."

"Whatever. Hey, where's Choji?"

I sighed. "Don't tell me it's—"

"'Fraid so. He's got indigestion again."

I raised an eyebrow and shook my head with a sigh, wishing that he had taken better care of himself. "Where's everybody else?"

Shikamaru came over, dragging Naruto by the collar. "Oh, a few teams, like Konohamaru's and Neji's, are out looking for us, but everyone else seems to be here."

I smiled. "Good."

"Yeah. I'm gonna go tie Naruto up somewhere. He needs to cool down a little before he's ready for the public eye."

I looked at Naruto, who was thrashing about and trying to twist out of Shikamaru's grip. Eventually, Shika let him go, but then got Naruto again with his Shadow Possession. I shrugged. "Go ahead, take him. I've got some stuff to do myself." I waved as he walked away with Naruto.

"Like what?" Ino asked tentatively.

"Oh, nothing more than greeting all those people. I figured that I could get the job done faster by myself. Wanna come with?"

"Sure. I don't see why not."

"'Kay, let's go then." We nodded at each other and set off to find all the people I had to let know that Naruto, Shikamaru and I were back.

Two hours later, as promised, I told Ino I'd see her later, and went to Ichiraku to meet Lady Tsunade and the other two. It turned out that Lady Hokage _was_planning to buy us lunch, and so we ate. After we had finished, we told our whole story, each of us contributing something that neither of the other two experienced. It took a while, but I'm pretty sure Tsunade kept up pretty well. She did stop us a few times, but she got it for the most part. We went on like that for a rather long time as we told the whole, uncensored story.


	25. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

When we were finished, she sat there for a while, supposedly contemplating our story. It _did_ seem pretty far-fetched to my ears, and I was one of the ones who had actually experienced it.

I sighed and stretched in my chair. Naruto got up and walked around a bit. Shikamaru just sat there, looking too tired (or too lazy) to get up. We waited for Lady Tsunade's verdict. There was, after all, every possibility that she didn't believe us and was simply wondering which asylum to put us in. I certainly hoped that wasn't the case, though.

Eventually, she looked up at Shikamaru, Naruto and I, then spoke in a strong tone, "I believe you. No one could have come up with such an elaborate lie, but it also _does_ seem pretty strange. How long did you say you were there, Naruto?"

"Six months," He said. "Time passes differently there than it does here, says Shikamaru."

Lady Fifth nodded once more, got up, and began to walk away. "I see. Well then, you may take your leave, but we will be seeing each other back here at 8 PM tonight."

"But why?" I asked, with a slight frown. "Didn't we answer all your questions already?"

She stopped and grinned back at us. "I'm not talking about interviews. I'm talking about festivities. We do have to welcome our heroes home, right?" And with that, she walked back towards her office.

"Festivities?" Naruto, Shikamaru and I said simultaneously. Then we all smiled hugely at each other, and went our separate ways to continue to greet people. I had to go find Ino and explain to her what happened, just like I had promised to a little while ago.

8 o'clock came faster than I would have expected. It was almost like time was passing faster in this dimension than it was in the place the three of us got lost in, even though the transverse was true. Anyway, the party officially started when Naruto arrived.

Late, as always.

So everything started at more like 8:30, but it was still really fun nonetheless. Eventually things started to blur together, and I was starting to feel pretty woozy. Not slap-happy-woozy, but more like the-world-is-spinning-woozy. I knew I wasn't drunk because I hadn't had anything to drink except for water and, you guessed it, Dr Pepper. It's possible that someone slipped me something, but I hadn't been tailed at all either, and I carried my drink with me almost the whole time. I deduced that I was just extremely tired, so I pulled out only two-and-a-half hours after the main event had started. I jumped up to my favorite rooftop, but found Naruto already sitting there, just looking calmly at the stars.

My feet touched the building with a muted _tap,_and Naruto turned slightly to smile at me.

"Can I sit?" I asked quietly.

He nodded.

I frowned a little and sighed.

"What's up?" He was using an especially gentle tone.

"Oh, nothing, really. I just feel out of shape is all…"

He rolled up onto the balls of his feet. "Well, I can remedy that, can't I?"

I bobbed my head in consent of what he was about to do. He threw a couple experimental punches that allowed me some time to jump up and into my fighting stance, forcing the former haze to fade. I pulled some fancy Muhammad Ali footwork, messing with my boyfriend, just like I always did. He laughed, but was cut off when I started throwing a few punches of my own.

We continued sparing for a while, parrying blows, and using the occasional small-scale jutsu. Eventually though, we both became so tired and sore that I was almost falling over, and Naruto had to practically crawl back to his apartment. I staggered back to my own house, almost breaking my nose on the door upon entry.

I began my bedtime habits as always, changing into my PJs (maroon cami and pink-and-maroon plaid bottoms), and brushing my hair and teeth. At last, I retreated to my soft bed, the one I hadn't slept in for a while. Without a second thought about reading a little bit, I flicked the switch and closed my slightly-heavy eyelids.

_Well,_ I thought, pleasantly drowsy, _Over__a__time__span__of__six__days,__I__landed__myself__in__another__dimension,__lost__my__two__best__friends,__learned__how__to__use__a__new__kind__of__weapon,__entered__a__tournament,__fainted__twice,__lost__said__tournament,__found__my__friends,__found__a__way__to__get__home__in__a__cookbook,__and__actually__got__back__home._

_ Not bad for a girl like me._

And then I slept.


	26. Epilogue—Chapter 14

Epilogue—Chapter14*

_§- 6 months later-§_

Naruto had been called to Lady Tsunade's office. Everyone who was normally in or around the building, including Shizune and Tonton, was asked to leave the premises. No one knew what they were talking about, but, whatever it was, Tsunade wanted to make sure no one knew except for herself and Naruto.

The two of them were cooped up in there for over two hours, and I began to worry. She wasn't interrogating him, was she?

I waited on the doorstop of the Hokage House, my foot rapidly tapping the dirt and gravel beneath me. Hours seemed to go by, but eventually, Iruka-sensei came running through the village streets, delivering a message. "Everyone is to move inside their homes, shops, or wherever else they can find temporary refuge. Please move as quickly as possible—Hokage's orders."

"Iruka-sensei?" I asked, after jumping quickly to my feet. "What's going on?"

"I don't actually know, Sakura." He was scratching his head like he was known to do. "I was just given orders from Lady Shizune to begin sending people out of the streets." He turned to the groups of people who were now slowly beginning to dissipate. "And also ask the owners to close the windows and stay inside until someone comes around telling you otherwise. Thank you!"

He turned to me. "This means you too, Sakura. So get inside as soon as you can. I'll see you later!"

We waved our goodbyes and I headed over to Ichiraku, where the old man was just about to pull down the metal shade. A few other townspeople had also shared my idea and were also sitting on the stools available. I chatted with them for a bit, then another Chunin came running through the streets, telling everyone that they could come back out. Only about fifteen minutes had passed, so whatever had happened had been taken care of quickly.

I ran back towards Lady Tsunade's office as everyone in the village was piling back into the streets, but saw her and Naruto on the roof instead. Tsunade shouted an order for silence, and the Leaf Village stuttered into an eerie silence.

"It is now official. I, Tsunade, one of the three Sanin, have…"

There was a collective intake of breath from the streets as the sounds of people whispering and talking amongst themselves descended.

"Quiet!" Silence once again reigned. Tsunade started again. "I, Tsunade, one of the three Sanin, have officially resigned the title of Hokage. The Five Kages were already alerted of this, and they voted unanimously. The ceremony of handing the title has already occurred."

"What?" was the word passing many people's lips.

"The next Hokage is…" Lady Tsunade trailed off. "Actually, I had better let him tell you himself. Come out, Sixth Hokage!"

My eyes went misty as I thought of how crushed Naruto would be to know that he would have to wait even longer than planned. But then—

He was on the roof.

Naruto was on the roof, standing next to Lady Tsunade. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki," he said, his voice reverberating off of the empty buildings.

"And I am the Sixth Hokage."

Tears freely ran down my cheeks as the whole village erupted into cheers and laughter, as I dashed up to the rooftop where my love, the frickin' _new_ _Hokage_, was waiting for me. I fell into Naruto's arms, still sobbing happy tears. He held me tightly. "Oh, and one more thing," he addressed his people, "We are in need of a new Medical Corps leader, as Granny Tsunade and Shizune will go back to living as nomads like they used to before Tsunade took the title. So I now present to you…"

I looked up at him in wonder, my eyes still brimming with tears. He smiled down at me, and gently pushed me towards the railing. "I now present to you, Sakura Haruno, new leader of the Medical Corps!"

There were cheers that I didn't hear. I was too happy to think straight. I looked out over the crowd, searching for Lady Tsunade, Shizune, and Tonton. I found her at last, and she nodded, giving me all the strength and courage I needed to last me a lifetime.

I ran back to Naruto and pulled him close up to the edge so we could look out over our people together. We grinned at each other, and pressed our foreheads together. We didn't get any closer than that, though, as not to give our new subjects bad first impressions. I stared into his eyes, ecstasy filling my heart.

Yeah, I know my life's probably one of the most cliché ones out there, but there's no helping it.

That's just how I am.

So deal with it, dammit.

*I unintentionally skipped Chapter 14, but I liked it that way, so I decided to keep it and "add" it at the end ^^;

©2011 by Laura Vilardi. All rights reserved.


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